The year 2026 is a significant one for us as we celebrate EL59 and prepare to step into EL60 next year. As the Lead Pastors (LP) Team came together to seek the Lord, we sensed clearly that God is preparing our church for greater influence in the days ahead.

This will not be just another year, but a destiny-shaping season – one where God is not only calling us forward, but forming us deeply.

Ephesians 2:10 says that “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

God is intentionally shaping, positioning, and preparing us for what He has already ordained. Our destiny – both individual and corporate – is not accidental. It is crafted by the Master for a divine purpose.

To be shaped for destiny requires more than awareness; it requires response. As we prayed into Ephesians 2:10, three key truths stood out – truths we must grow in as we step into this next season together:

1. Trusting the Master’s Plan

In every workmanship, the Master’s hand is at work. The Master sees the final product – the blueprint. 

He knows the work of art He is shaping EL to become. Nothing is by accident. While we may not be able to comprehend the future, we can trust the One who already sees it.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5–6

Trusting God’s plan often means recognising His hand in moments that seem ordinary but are destiny-marking. 

Some of us may be in seasons where the path ahead feels unclear – but clarity has never been the prerequisite for obedience.

God shapes us first by teaching us to trust Him, especially when we don’t have all the answers.

In the many “uproot and shift” seasons of my own life, I often didn’t understand the why. Yet through obedience and trust, I have seen God’s master plan unfold time and again.

Trust is the foundation of destiny. We cannot truly trust God if we do not know Him. Trust is not built on logic, but on knowing in our hearts that He is a good Father who sees our lives in their entirety. God may not reveal the full map, but He invites us to walk with Him step by step.

2. Yielding to the Potter’s Hand

In every workmanship, there is a Master’s hand at work. Trusting God’s plan must be expressed by our willingness to remain on the potter’s wheel.

“Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand.” – Jeremiah 18:6

Clay does not shape itself. It surrenders completely to the potter’s hands. As the potter works, He removes impurities, waters the clay, bends it, and sometimes allows it to rest – but never once takes His eyes off it. Yielding requires full surrender to the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to work freely in and through us.

When we yield ourselves to the Potter’s hands, we are declaring, “Lord, You know what You are doing, even when I don’t.”

Every destiny-shaping season involves God reshaping our mindset, refining our motives, and stretching us beyond familiar boundaries. Often, this shaping feels uncomfortable or costly, but it’s always purposeful.

Our journey is not accidental, and our future is intentional. Ephesians 2:10 assures us that God has already prepared the path we are to walk in. 

As we yield to the Spirit’s leading, we will emerge with deeper faith, greater humility, and a stronger love for God’s people. What feels uncomfortable today is God increasing our capacity for tomorrow.

3. Be Empowered to Expand

Every work of art involves transformation. Clay becomes vessels. Sand becomes glass. Carbon becomes diamonds. Raw materials in the hands of the Master become something far greater.

God never shapes us just to keep us small. He shapes us so He can expand us. Expansion always begins on the inside before it is seen on the outside.

“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back.” – Isaiah 54:2

Think of wineskins in biblical times. New wine could never be poured into an old, rigid wineskin; it would burst. The wine wasn’t the problem; the container was. 

The wineskin had to be softened, stretched, and prepared to carry what was coming. In the same way, God is not withholding blessings; He is preparing the vessel.

Expansion happens by divine design, as God stretches us until our capacity matches His calling.

There is a difference between maintenance and movement. Maintenance says, “Let’s protect what we have.” Movement says, “Let’s prepare for where God is bringing us.” 

Maintenance clings to comfort. Movement launches out in faith. Maintenance asks, “Is this safe?” Movement asks, “Is this God?”

As a church, God is inviting us to choose movement – to align and enlarge our hearts, vision and faith with where He is leading, not just where we have been.

The year 2026 will be a season of God’s shaping and empowerment for EL’s expansion. This shaping will be seen not only in our gatherings, but in our homes, our ministries, and our witness to the community and the world.

As we step into this new season, may we be a church that trusts the Master’s plan, yields to the Potter’s hand, and moves forward, empowered to expand. God is shaping us – not randomly, but intentionally – for the destiny He has already prepared.

Church, let us move forward in faith and allow God to Shape us for Destiny!