Goodbye Pope Francis
April 29, 2025
Beginning Year 2026
January 8, 2026
As a boy, I learned that God is everywhere. Of course, I tried to imagine what “everywhere” meant beyond the borders of my small world. Today, with the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes stretching our imagination to the edges of creation, I’ve long since realized that “everywhere” is far beyond my grasp.
But Christmas taught me something even more profound: God is also somewhere.
In Jesus, the God of everywhere became the God of somewhere—born into a particular place, at a particular time, on this earth we inhabit. The incarnation grounds our faith not in abstraction, but in the concrete reality of God stepping into human history.
Christmas may mark a familiar point on our calendar, but it points forward to Easter—where the same Jesus lived, died, and rose again on this same soil. His resurrected body ascending to heaven anchors our hope: a physical promise of a future with him, somewhere real and sure.
This year, that truth echoed deeply as we gathered for the World Evangelical Alliance General Assembly. Leaders from every continent stood together in worship, prayer, and conversation—a vibrant demonstration of unity across cultures and languages. The theme “Gospel for Everyone” reminded us that the God who came somewhere now sends us everywhere, carrying good news into every community and nation.
In those days of fellowship and discernment, I sensed again how the global Church—when united in humility and mutual love—becomes a living signpost of Christ’s presence among us. The Assembly renewed our commitment to collaboration, to listening to one another, and to strengthening the bonds of a worldwide family shaped by hope.
As we approach Christmas 2025, may you feel that same hope anchoring your life. And as we step into a new year, may the unity we witnessed in Seoul encourage you: Christ is building his Church, and he is with us—everywhere and somewhere.
With celebration and confidence in our shared future, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a hope-filled 2026.
Brian Stiller
Global Ambassador, World Evangelical Alliance
December 2025
