In the book of Acts, the early church received a stunning outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Fire, wind, and supernatural language flooded the upper room and resulted in a miraculous equipping for ministry. Ordinary believers were suddenly preaching with power—and thousands responded.

It went viral. The church was growing. God was clearly blessing this initiative—so surely, nothing should be allowed to get in the way, right?

Then came a disruption. “A great wave of persecution began that day…and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1, NLT).

Why would God allow persecution? Why sabotage such momentum?

Ellen White offers a sobering insight in her book The Acts of the Apostles: “Success had attended the ministry of the word…and there was danger that the disciples would linger there too long.… God permitted persecution to come upon them. Driven from Jerusalem, the believers ‘went everywhere preaching the word’” (p. 105).

The apostles, like many of us, struggled to move beyond the familiar. Years after Pentecost, they remained primarily in Jerusalem, even after receiving the Spirit’s power meant to equip them for global mission. When success chained the movement locally, God allowed disruption to unshackle them.

Contrast that with Philip. During the persecution in Acts 8, while the twelve disciples remained in Jerusalem, Philip the “waiter” goes to minister in Samaria. Revival is breaking out, confirmed by signs and miracles. But then God interrupts and says to Philip: “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” (Acts 8:26, NIV).

No details. No promise of results. Just a strange, counterintuitive assignment.

Philip could’ve resisted being torn from his ministry. After all, success was happening here. But he obeyed—and found himself alongside a chariot carrying a high-ranking Ethiopian official. One conversation led to baptism. One moment of obedience introduced the gospel to a man who played an instrumental role in bringing the message back to the continent of Africa.

Sometimes God pulls us from the center of momentum to the margins of obscurity—not to sideline us but to send us.

We often pray for open doors and continued blessings. But when disruptions come, we panic. We ask, Why would God allow this? Yet Scripture teaches us that discomfort is sometimes the soil where mission takes root.

The mission of the Southern California Conference is to exalt Christ by cultivating healthy churches and schools. That kind of health doesn’t come from avoiding disruptions—it comes from embracing them as divine invitations. Every challenge in ministry, every unexpected turn, might just be the setup for our next assignment.

So here’s the question: Are we lingering in Jerusalem, clinging to past successes? Or are we willing to be a disrupted disciple, heeding God’s voice calling us down the desert road? Whether you find yourself leading a church, teaching in a classroom, or sharing your faith with someone in the margins— your disruption might just be exactly what is needed.