The Spirit is always calling the church forward. Always shaping us. Always challenging us to lay down our comfort and pick up our cross

God is always renewing us and leading us into new territory – but are we listening? asks Malcolm Duncan

A few years before he became the General Superintendent of our Movement, Mark Pugh reminded us that the Elim Church is not a monument; it is a movement. It was never meant to be static, stagnant, or stuck.

The church of Jesus Christ, from its birth in the upper room in Acts 2, has been a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led community, called to embody the mission of God in the world.

That mission has not changed. The commission remains the same: “Go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:1-20). But the way we live that out, the wineskins that hold the wine, must be open to the ongoing reforming work of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit is always calling the church forward. Always shaping us. Always challenging us to lay down our comfort and pick up our cross (Luke 9:23). Ecclesia semper reformanda est (The church must always be reformed) is a classic Latin maxim often used by those within the Reformed tradition, echoing Jodocus van Lodenstein’s 17th-century insight: the church must perpetually re-evaluate and purify its doctrine and practice according to Scripture.

We must keep in step with the Spirit. The question is not whether God is renewing us and leading us into new territory. The question is: are we listening? Are we willing to be reformed?

The unchanging call and the need for change

The call of the church is clear: to proclaim Christ (Acts 5:42), to make disciples (Matthew 28:19), to love God and love people (Matthew 22:37-39). That has never changed, and never will change. But the context in which we live out that call is constantly shifting. Culture changes. Communities change. The questions people ask change. And if we are honest, the church sometimes struggles to keep up.

Too often, we cling to old wineskins, structures, methods, and mindsets that once served us well but no longer fit the new wine of what God is doing. Jesus warned us about this: “No one pours new wine into old wineskins…” (Luke 5:37-38). If we refuse to change, we risk becoming brittle and breaking under the pressure of the Spirit’s fresh work.

Kathryn Kuhlman once said that our Heavenly Father does not ask for golden vessels. He does not ask for silver vessels. God asks for yielded vessels. We follow the leading of the Spirit, because the wind blows where it wants (John 3:8). We do not set the agenda for God; God sets the agenda for us.

Reforming is not about abandoning truth. It is about embodying truth in ways that speak to the world we live in today. It is about being faithful to the gospel and flexible in our methods. It is about holding the message tightly and the models lightly. The part of the church that is always in need of reforming is the human heart. We must never glory in past methods or structures.

The Book of Acts: a blueprint for movement

Acts is not a book about a static institution. It is the story of a dynamic, Spirit-filled movement. From Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8), the early church was constantly adapting.

When persecution scattered believers (Acts 8:1-4), they didn’t cling to Jerusalem; they carried the gospel wherever they went. When Gentiles began to believe (Acts 10:44-48), the church wrestled with its identity and reformed its understanding of who belonged.

When cultural tensions arose (Acts 15:1-21), they gathered, prayed, and made Spirit-led decisions that reshaped their structures.

The Spirit was always ahead of them, calling them into new territory. And every time they listened, the gospel advanced (Acts 16:6-10). That same Spirit is calling us today. The question is: will we follow?

Reforming in our time: stories from Elim churches

Across the UK, Elim churches are hearing this call and responding. Let me share a few examples that inspire me:

In Birmingham, one of our churches recognised that their traditional Sunday gatherings were not connecting with younger generations. Instead of lamenting, they launched midweek community hubs, spaces for conversation, prayer, and mission in local cafés and homes. The gospel hasn’t changed, but the wineskin has (Acts 2:46-47).

In Cardiff, one of our churches faced the challenge of reaching a multicultural city. Rather than expecting people to fit into one style of worship, they embraced diversity, creating multilingual services and empowering leaders from different ethnic backgrounds. The Spirit is reforming our understanding of what unity looks like (Revelation 7:9).

In Warrington, one of our churches realised that discipleship was being reduced to attendance. They shifted to a model of intentional small groups focused on mission, accountability, and spiritual growth. Structures changed, but the call to make disciples remained (Hebrews 10:24-25).

In Glasgow, one of our churches has built its mission around three simple words, seek, share and serve. This simple set of words is enabling effective mission and discipleship in a church that was founded in 1927 (Matthew 22:37ff).

In Belfast, one of our churches is working closely with the Indian community in Northern Ireland to reach and serve that particular group of people with amazing results (Matthew 28:16-20).

In Monaghan, where Elim began, the fellowship is breaking cultural and religious barriers to ensure that people from the whole community hear and understand the gospel (Galatians 3:27ff).

In Brookeborough, one of our churches has embraced social media powerfully and seen exponential growth. They have adapted their method to reach their community. They are running new missions in surrounding towns and have had to extend the capacity of their building as they welcome new families from across Fermanagh and beyond (1 Corinthians 8:19-23).

These churches are not perfect. None of us are. But they are listening to the Spirit and they are willing to change. That is what reforming looks like. Our movement is richer when we allow the Spirit to lead us into the new.

Why reforming matters

If we refuse to reform, we risk irrelevance. Not because the gospel is irrelevant, it never is, but because we fail to embody it in ways that speak to our generation.

Reforming is not about chasing trends or watering down truth. It is about being obedient to the Spirit, who is always ahead of us, calling us into God’s future (John 16:13).

Pentecostal churches should understand this better than anyone. We are a movement birthed in revival, a people who believe in the power and presence of the Spirit (Acts 2:17-18). But if we are honest, sometimes we have become more about preserving than pioneering. I am excited that we are recovering our roots as a Spirit-led movement.

What does reforming require?

Humility – we must admit that our ways are not perfect and be willing to learn (Philippians 2:3).

Courage – change is hard. It means letting go of what is comfortable (Joshua 1:9).

Discernment – not every new idea is from God. We need to listen deeply to the Spirit (1 John 4:1).

Faithfulness – reforming is not about novelty; it is about obedience to the unchanging call of Christ (1 Corinthians 4:2).

A call to action

John Wimber, the world-renowned charismatic church leader, once wrote, “Our passion is to imitate the ministry of Jesus in the power of the Spirit. This requires we must follow Jesus out of baptismal waters, through our personal deserts, and into the harvest. We want to take the ammunition of balanced evangelical theology with the fire power of Pentecostal practice … to hit the target of making and nurturing disciples.”

The Spirit is still speaking; still calling; still reforming. Will we listen? Will we allow him to shape who we are, what we do, and how we are structured? Will we lay down old wineskins and embrace the new?

The church is not a monument. It is a movement. And movements move. May God give us fresh grace to move with the Spirit.

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.