New Covenant 2026: Build the Community That Lasts

Introduction

One year is ending, another is opening, and this time it's not just a calendar marker. At Efficient Church, 2026 marks the first year of a new 2026-2030 five-year vision built around the word "victory." With one detail that changes everything: it will be victory in the midst of confrontation. Marie Agostini opened the word with Colossians 1:19-20, and Patrice Martorano carried it further by giving 2026 its own name: the year of the new covenant, and of the community to build.

You'll see that these words aren't decorative. They describe, very concretely, the ground you're going to walk on this year, and how God wants to walk it with you, not alone, but with brothers and sisters around you.

Outline of the Message

1. From a Five-Year Vision of Freedom to a Five-Year Vision of Victory

Marie recalled the road already traveled. The 2016-2020 vision was one of manifestation, the word given to Simeon in Luke 2:34-35: "this child is appointed for the falling and the rising of many in Israel." And indeed, those years revealed what was already in people's hearts: extremes resurfaced, many drifted away from God, and each person was brought back to what truly lived inside them.

Then came the 2021-2025 vision, freedom in the midst of chaos. After Covid, you might have thought nothing would change; in reality, God freed his people within a manipulated society, where information had turned into intoxication and individualism had gained ground.

Today opens the 2026-2030 vision: victory. Not victory found in a calm that has returned, but in the midst of confrontation. The key verse for the whole five years is Colossians 1:19-20: "For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him, and through him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross, through him, whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens." Four words to meditate on: power, reconciliation, direction, peace. All power is in Christ, and every day you're going to face other powers trying to pull you in another direction.

2. 2026, a Year of New Covenant and New Pledges

"New covenant, new pledge, it's the same thing," Patrice explained. Unlike previous years, this year isn't divided into quarters. It's structured around pillars that will keep coming back, one of them being this: making new covenants, with God first, then with brothers and sisters.

A covenant, in the Bible, isn't a New Year's resolution. It's a two-way commitment, held together by God's faithfulness and your response. In 2026, you're invited to renew your pledge: "Lord, whatever you ask of me, I trust you. Take my time, take my energy, take my certainties. I know you're wiser than I am." You speak that sentence first in secret. Then you live it out in front of others.

3. Building a Community: The Year's Great Project

This is the second pillar, and it's where the title of the message takes on its full meaning. Victory in the midst of confrontation isn't won solo. It's won in community. Patrice was emphatic: community isn't a Sunday backdrop, it's "a hospital for sinners" where God heals, lifts up, and carries on his work.

This kind of community is built through concrete commitments: to one another, to recognized leaders (Corinne for the children's ministry, François for couples, and every ministry already at work, which the church "simply recognizes"), and above all to the most vulnerable: newcomers, children's leaders, the brothers and sisters nobody notices. Praying that they get through the holidays in peace. Praying "that the Lord would send workers into his harvest." That's what it means to build a community.

4. The Sinai Trap: Don't Get Manipulated While God Is Speaking

Patrice spent time in Exodus 32. Moses went up the mountain to receive the engraved tablets; he stayed a long time in communion with the Lord, leaving the people below. And during that time, the people let themselves be manipulated. They went to Aaron, asked for a golden calf, and fell into idolatry.

When Moses comes back down, he hears singing. Not songs of joy, not songs of sorrow, other songs. This is very concrete for you this year: you're going to cross paths with sounds that are neither clearly joyful nor clearly bad. It's up to you to recognize an "other song," another covenant trying to replace the one God is currently engraving for you. All the people had to do was wait for Moses to come back down. That's often what God asks of you: hold steady while you wait for his word, and don't rush to build a golden calf out of whatever is close at hand.

5. An Example to Follow: Jeremiah Buying His Cousin's Field

Patrice referenced Jeremiah 32. God had just given Jeremiah a prophecy announcing that Babylon would take Israel. The land of Israel therefore had no commercial value left at all. And yet God tells Jeremiah to buy his cousin's field, a completely countercultural act, economically absurd, prophetically brilliant.

That's the picture of your victory in the midst of confrontation: you're going to make choices that will look illogical to the world, because you're obeying what God has shown you. And while you make those choices, "the Lord takes care of everything else and opens up new paths."

Key Takeaways

• The 2026-2030 five-year vision is a vision of victory, but it will be won in the midst of confrontation, not in a lull.
• The verse carrying the whole five years is Colossians 1:19-20: four key words to meditate on, power, reconciliation, direction, peace.
• 2026 is the new covenant: new pledges to make with God and with your community.
• Community is the year's other great project, a "hospital for sinners" built through mutual commitment.
• Watch out for "other songs": when you're waiting for a clear word from God, don't build your golden calf out of impatience.

Personal Application

1. What concrete covenant is the Lord asking me to renew with him this week, over my time, my money, my relationships?
2. Where am I alone in my spiritual fight when God is calling me to commit to a community?
3. Who are the vulnerable brothers and sisters around me (newcomers, children's leaders, the ones we no longer see) that I can carry in prayer before the holidays?
4. What "golden calf" do I tend to build when God's answer is slow in coming?
5. Is there a "Jeremiah's field" (an act of obedience that looks illogical) that God is asking me to step into in 2026?

Scriptures Cited

• Colossians 1:19-20 · the key verse of the 2026-2030 five-year vision.
• Luke 2:34-35 · Simeon's word, the anchor of the 2016-2020 vision.
• Ezekiel 12:16 · the word received in 2016 about streets that would become empty.
• Exodus 32 · Moses on the mountain, the people, and the golden calf.
• Jeremiah 32 · buying the field despite the prophecy about Babylon.
• Revelation 21:16 · the new Jerusalem's unexpected shape.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "new covenant" mean for the year 2026?

It isn't a New Year's resolution: it's a pledge you make with God and with the brothers and sisters he's given you. In 2026, you're invited to put these commitments into words (over your time, your resources, your presence), so you don't face the confrontation alone.

Why is the 2026-2030 five-year vision marked by victory?

Because God led his church through manifestation (2016-2020), then through freedom in the midst of chaos (2021-2025). The season of victory is arriving now, but it will be won at the heart of a confrontation that won't let up. Victory doesn't cancel the fight, it names its outcome.

How do you avoid ending up like the people of Israel at the foot of Sinai?

The people let themselves be manipulated while Moses was on the mountain, and out of impatience they made the golden calf. The safeguard is patience, being anchored in a praying community, and listening for a clear prophetic word, not the rumors that turn into "other songs."