You Are “The Next”

When it comes to the passing of beloved Christian ministry leaders, 2025 has seen more than its fair share of losses. From Kay Arthur to John MacArthur to James Dobson to Voddie Baucham, it’s felt like we can’t go more than a few weeks without another ministry, another church, or another family being left with a gap at its helm. 

If popular entertainment is your jam, perhaps you’ve mourned the loss of Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Cheers’ George Wendt, Hulk Hogan of WWF wrestling, or Malcolm-Jamal Warner of Cosby Show fame. (Fellow Gen Xers, that one hurt, didn’t it?) 

And then there’s the unforgettable assassination of conservative Christian activist and organizer Charlie Kirk. 

There’s no question Kirk was an influential figure, taken down in his prime, and as an uneasy nation held its breath for thirty-three hours between the time he was shot and when his suspected killer was taken into custody, the question was already being floated among his supporters: Who could possibly replace him? Who will be the next Charlie Kirk? 

Of course, it doesn’t take a sudden death or a national tragedy to prompt the question of who’s next. As a staff member at Revive Our Hearts, I’m asked frequently, “Who will be the next Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth? What will happen to the ministry when she’s no longer recording new programs?” 

It’s not necessarily a morbid question. We all have an expiration date, a retirement date, a date with a health crisis, or simply a date with moving on to what’s next. 

So, what’s the answer? Who will be the next Nancy? The next Charlie? The next John, James, Voddie, or Kay? This may come as a surprise, but there is an answer. 

The answer is no one. And it’s also . . . you. Confused? Let me explain. 

We Are All Replaceable

My husband, Michael, is the administrator of a small Christian school that truly feels more like a family. The members of this year’s senior class, which includes our fourth son, were just first graders when Michael became their principal. Through the years, we (much more he than I) have invested so much in these kids—cheering them on in athletics, challenging them with rigorous academics, and trying with all our might to pass on our love for the arts through our music and theater programs. 

This class is hardworking, softhearted, athletic, and extremely musical. At the moment, it seems impossible to imagine filling the gaping hole that will be left in the student body when they graduate on May 17. It may sound overly poetic, but like footprints in wet sand, washed away by the tide, by mid-September of next year, new leaders will have emerged with new routines and new strengths. What was once a gaping hole will begin to feel perfectly . . . normal. How do I know? Because it happens every single year. 

We are all replaceable.

And that’s the way it’s meant to be, in seasons of life transition and in our transition from life on earth to eternity. James reminds us that none of us are promised another day. 

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. (James 4:13–15)

At every age and stage, our days are numbered by the one who knows best. 

I’ll say it again: in terms of organization and performance, you and I, Nancy, Charlie, Phil, and Kay are all utterly, perfectly replaceable—in God’s time and as He sees fit. The question is, by whom?

You Are Uniquely You

It’s true: there is no “next John MacArthur,” “next Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth,” or “next Voddie Baucham” waiting in the wings. Why? Because the world doesn’t need “another” of what they have to offer. But friend, God has created you with unique skills, abilities, and characteristics that He has been honing through the gamut of your life experiences for this exact moment in time. The world . . . your neighborhood . . . your family . . . they don’t need another Kay Arthur, beloved as she was. What they need right now is you. Your hands. Your voice. Your wisdom. Your love.

Perhaps you feel you don’t have much to offer. Maybe you’re “just” a mom, just a single woman, just a teenage girl, just a widow, just a first-grade Sunday school teacher. Whether or not you ever have a platform to influence thousands (most of us never will), if you are in Christ, you are a vital part of God’s plan to do His work in this season of human history. 

With the winds of revival blowing through college campuses, church attendance on the rise, and a noticeable uptick in conversations about God and the role of Christianity in society at the forefront of the public imagination, I’ve heard women wiser than I say that we seem to be in a unique window of history that could be ripe with gospel fruit. But where do you fit in? Here are two questions to ask as you discern the answer. 

1. What’s in My Hand? 

My church’s theme for the year has been based on Ephesians 5:16; “making the most of the time, because the days are evil.” But it’s not always easy to know exactly what to do—especially if you feel inadequate for the task in front of you. 

Many times, my pastor has answered the question by pointing to Exodus 4, when the Lord answers Moses’ question with a question:

Moses answered, “What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?”

The LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” (vv. 1–2)

When Moses didn’t know what to say, didn’t know what to do, and felt as though the task before him was insurmountable, the Lord simply asked him to look at what was in his hand. Little did Moses know, that simple rod would be used by God to turn water into blood (7:17), unleash frogs, gnats, and hail (8–9), part the Red Sea (14:16, 21), and extract water from a rock (Ex. 17:5–6; Num. 20:8–11). 

What’s in your hand? If you’re a mom, change diapers to the glory of God. If you’re a teacher, teach to the glory of God. If you have a home, be hospitable to the glory of God. 

Winter is coming—at least in Minnesota. Do you have a shovel? Help your neighbors remove snow to the glory of God. Do you have a husband? Honor him to the glory of God. Can you sing or play an instrument? Make a joyful noise to the glory of God.

You may eventually be given an opportunity to make a visible difference in the world around you—a public platform, a speaking or writing ministry, the opportunity to lead a neighbor to Christ, a prosperous business that can give back to the community around you, or the top billing on a marquee. But today and every day, simple faithfulness to Jesus is your mission. As Colossians 3:23–24 says, “Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.”

2. Who Is Under My Influence? 

You may not be the next Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, but you could have a burgeoning Bible teacher right under your nose. She could be in your youth group, sit next to you at Bible study, or be sleeping snugly in her bed just down the hall. Your influence as a wise, godly woman could make all the difference in the world as she develops into the woman that God would have her be. 

Titus 2 begins, “But you are to proclaim things consistent with sound teaching” (v. 1). This isn’t just a directive to men or women who are Bible teachers. “In the same way,” the passage goes on, “older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not slaves to excessive drinking. They are to teach what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children, to be self-controlled, pure, workers at home, kind, and in submission to their husbands, so that God’s word will not be slandered” (vv. 3–5).

It’s a tall order, but one with the potential to bear magnificent gospel fruit. And that doesn’t just go for women influencing girls. Paul says in his second letter to Timothy, “I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and now, I am convinced, is in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5). Later, Paul encourages Timothy to “continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:14–15).

Mom, grandma, auntie, Sunday school teacher: the influence you can have on the next generation of godly men—something the world desperately needs—is staggering. Whether the boys in your life become global ministry leaders, pastors of large churches, or husbands and fathers with everyday, blue-collar jobs, your influence is part of the story God is writing in His Church and around the world. 

And it doesn’t stop there. 

Wife, you can be a powerful influence in the life of your husband. Sister, you can be a conduit of grace in your workplace. Friend, be the one who is consistently pointing your girlfriends back to Christ. You don’t need a public ministry or a platform to impact the world for Him. 

You Are the Next (and Only) You

You may never wow a crowd with your oration skills, but if you have a voice or a keyboard or a pen, the time for you to speak truth to a watching, waiting world is now. No matter who you are, as a child of the King, you’ve been equipped with a unique message that somebody out there is waiting to hear. 

You have a voice. You have the Word of God. You have the Holy Spirit. And you have the gospel in this confused world that is writhing as it is starved by lies.

You have been equipped with the truth. It’s your turn now.