This post was written by guest writer, Colleen Fischer.
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a [special] people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies [the wonderful deeds and virtues and perfections] of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people [at all], but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)
In 1978, not long after I had surrendered my life to Jesus as my Savior, God gave me a vision that I have carried in my heart ever since. At the time, my husband had been assigned to the Panama Canal Zone. I was 7½ months pregnant when I stepped off the plane, overwhelmed by the heat and humidity, the unfamiliarity, and the uncertainty of it all. With our two young sons, Joshua and Kahlib, we stayed in temporary housing on base, (all those who were new to Howard AFB stayed there until they were fully processed). It was like a college dorm, a shared space with communal bathrooms. Everything felt foreign: the smells, the sights, the language, the culture.
Eventually, we were settled into a home, and on December 16, our daughter Christina Marie, was born at Gorgas Hospital. Though things around me still felt unfamiliar, we began to find fellowship among our military community. One of the most beautiful aspects of military life is the bond it fosters—quick, strong, and supportive. Looking back, it strikes me that this was how the church ought to be: unified, welcoming, and purpose-driven.
Outside the base, in the Canal Zone, was a large Panamanian church with a sign that caught my eye. It read, La Iglesia Eres Tú (translated: “The Church is you”.) That phrase marked me deeply.
At the time, I was serving as the choir director for three of the base chapel choirs—two Catholic and one Protestant. We were deeply involved in the base chapel life, faithfully showing up and participating in all the right ways. But it still wasn’t enough to satisfy the ache in my soul. For years, I had carried a quiet longing—an unspoken hunger for something more. I had grown up a faithful Catholic girl, but I often felt a heaviness, a deep spiritual emptiness. I remember asking myself more than once, “Is this really all there is?” I didn’t dare voice it out loud at the time, but that question quietly echoed inside me.
What I didn’t know then was that my husband was wrestling with the same emptiness. We didn’t talk about it—not at first. (I mean, who really does that?) But God, in His gentle mercy, was stirring both our hearts.
That silent yearning eventually led us to something unexpected: a small, home-based interdenominational prayer meeting. It was unfamiliar territory—nothing like what we were used to. Some people actually raised their hands in worship and talked about their love for God out loud! But almost immediately, we knew we had stumbled into something sacred. What we had been longing for all along wasn’t more religion—it was relationship. We encountered Jesus in a new and personal way. We experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And suddenly, everything changed. Our hearts were awakened to a deeper calling, and we began a journey with God that still grows more precious with every passing day.
It was during that season that I received a vision. It wasn’t a dream, but more like an open vision. I saw people from all backgrounds leaving lifeless, formal religious structures and walking into glorious, radiant light. They weren’t aimless—they were being drawn by the light, following it with joy and conviction. They were the ekklesia—the called-out ones. The true Church.
For decades, this vision remained etched in my memory. But in 2025, the Lord stirred my heart once more and whispered, “That vision is for now.” We are witnessing a movement of believers stepping out of empty religiosity and into authentic, Spirit-led living. We are not merely called out—we are called forth to fulfill the will of the Father.
We are the End-Time Remnant. We are warriors in prayer, equipped with spiritual weapons that are mighty unto God for the pulling down of strongholds. (2 Corinthians 10:4). We are commissioned to heal the sick, proclaim Christ, and advocate for the voiceless—all under the direction and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
“Do everything without murmuring or questioning [the providence of God], so that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish in the midst of a [morally] crooked and [spiritually] perverted generation, among whom you are seen as bright lights [beacons shining out clearly] in the world [of darkness], holding out and offering to everyone the word of life.” (Philippians 2:14–16 AMP)
This is who we are: a people in vertical relationship with the Father, who hear His voice and obey His leading. As 1 Peter 2:9–10 reminds us, we are chosen, set apart, and dearly loved—not simply to bask in His light, but to proclaim His excellence to a world still in darkness. Though we can and should submit to godly leadership, ultimately, we follow Christ—our Captain, the Lord of Hosts.
“Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.’” (1 Sam 17:45)
“Now when Joshua was by Jericho… a man was standing opposite him with his drawn sword… He said, ‘No; rather I have come now as captain of the army of the Lord.’…And the captain of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, ‘Remove your sandals… the place where you are standing is holy.’”
(Joshua 5:13–15)
We are led both individually and corporately by the Holy Spirit. The Word of God is our guide—“a lamp to our feet and a light to our path” (Psalm 119:105). Jesus Himself beckons us:
If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself… and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24)
And He promises:
“Anyone who believes in Me… will also do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these…” (John 14:12)
Like the Israelites who left Egypt , we have been delivered but not to wander aimlessly in the wildernesss as that first generation did. Many failed to enter the Promised Land because of their unbelief.
“So we see that they were not able to enter…because of unbelief and an unwillingness to trust in God.” (Hebrews 3:19)
A new generation—led by Joshua and Caleb—were able to enter the promised land. They had to fight battles to win, but they successful because they followed God and did His bidding. Are you part of that generation? Do you sense the stirring of the Holy Spirit calling you out of apathy and into divine purpose? If so, don’t linger in the desert. Step into the light and become a doer of His Word.
“Do you not say, ‘It is still four months until the harvest comes?’ Look, I say to you, raise your eyes and look at the fields… they are white for harvest.” (John 4:35)
We are living in unprecedented times—perhaps in the very days leading up to Christ’s return. Now is not the time to shrink back. It is the time to rise up and fulfill the Great Commission:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations… teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always… even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19–20)
This is the meaning of the vision God gave me in 1978. Now, 47 years later, in 2025, it burns brighter than ever in my heart. And as I share it, I find others—across backgrounds, generations, and denominations—are hearing the same call.
“And we have the word of prophecy made more sure… a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. Know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation… but men spoke from God, moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:19–21)
May the light of that vision guide us, may His Spirit empower us, and may we, the called-out ones, the Ekklesia, shine for the glory of God.
La Iglesia Eres Tú- The Church is You
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