As I reflect on the past 50 years since Charisma was born in 1975, I’m struck by how much has changed—and yet how much has stayed the same. The hairstyles and technology may look different, but the human heart still wrestles with the same hurts, questions and desperate longings for something more. In 1975, the world was reeling from the chaos of the Vietnam War, the upheaval of Watergate and a generation of young people searching for truth in all the wrong places. Today, we see a similar ache, though it wears a new face.
Just scroll through your phone or turn on the news. The world is fractured, fearful and famished for hope. Anxiety and depression are at epidemic levels, especially among the younger generations. A global pandemic left emotional and spiritual scars that haven’t yet healed. In our hyperconnected age, loneliness has paradoxically become one of the greatest plagues. Technology promises connection, but too often delivers isolation, confusion and addiction.
The moral foundations that once anchored our culture are cracking. Biblical truth is mocked, not just in universities but in boardrooms and courtrooms. What God designed as good—marriage, gender, life itself—is being “deconstructed” by ideologies hostile to the Creator. Yet I believe with all my heart that this is not the moment for despair. This is the moment for the body of Christ to rise as never before to proclaim with Spirit-empowered boldness that Jesus Christ still saves, heals, delivers and restores.
When I founded Charisma, I was part of a Jesus Movement generation that carried a raw, unpolished zeal for God. We weren’t perfect, but we were passionate to see the Holy Spirit move. Now, 50 years later, I see a similar passion stirring in the younger generations. Gen Z and Gen-Alpha are uniquely equipped to take the Gospel into a hurting world, digitally savvy, globally minded and fiercely creative.
But they need us. They need the fathers and mothers in the faith to pass the baton well. They need to see what it looks like to stand firm when the winds of culture blow with ferocity. They need to know that only the unchanging Word of God has the power to transform hearts and nations.
I’ve spent my life telling stories of revival, healing, deliverance and the miraculous through Charisma’s pages. I’ve seen the Holy Spirit work in ways that defy human logic. And I am convinced that God is not finished with America or the nations of the world. He’s raising up a new generation of Spirit-filled believers who will mesh the best of our heritage—prayer, fasting, the Word and the gifts of the Spirit—with fresh methods to reach this present age.
It might look like Holy Spirit-led content creators flooding social media platforms with biblical truth that cuts through the noise. It might look like young worship leaders carrying revival fire into stadiums and coffee shops alike. It might look like entrepreneurs starting businesses that model kingdom ethics and fund missions worldwide. It might look like Spirit-filled teachers and counselors who bring Christ’s healing presence to classrooms and therapy sessions.
We need to cheer them on while we pray over them, and we must equip them. Let’s call out their God-given potential and commission them into the harvest field. The Great Commission is not just a relic of the past—it is the mandate of every believer today as blade-sharp and hot as flame as any moment since Acts 2.
I can still remember the first issue of Charisma rolling off the press. I never imagined the reach it would one day have across print, digital and social platforms. But that’s the nature of the Gospel—it keeps expanding, multiplying, transcending every boundary. Fifty years from now, if the Lord tarries, I believe we will see even greater things—because our God is and always has been faithful from generation to generation.
So, to the younger believers reading this: your moment is now. The same Holy Spirit who empowered Peter, Paul and the pioneers of the Charismatic renewal empowers you. Dream big. Pray bold prayers. Preach unashamedly. Love sacrificially. Innovate fearlessly. And never forget: it is not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit.
And to my generation and those before me: let’s finish well. Let’s model faithfulness. Let’s pass on the torch with joy and expectation, knowing the best days for the kingdom are ahead.
This hurting world needs Jesus as much today as it did in 1975. And He has chosen us—every generation together—to make Him known. Let’s rise to the challenge.
