Visionizing: Strategizing with the Holy Spirit
By E. Scott Martin in Chi Alpha Connection
I have always been an advocate for being strategic, deliberate, and replicable in ministry. I have frequently discovered our planning relies extensively on our own dreams and vision for ministry, and the pathway to implementation is often our own best ideas. Some people are gifted for structural organization, strategizing, and the execution of those ideas, but when those skills are coupled with the leading of the Holy Spirt, we accomplish God’s vision and plan for ministry.
This past January, the Executive Ministry Team (EMT) of Chi Alpha met for three days during which we reflected on the vast changes that have occurred in Chi Alpha Nation over the past five years. In addition, we also inquired of the Lord as to where He wants Chi Alpha to be in the coming five years. Then, as the EMT, we took the next bold step, laying aside our desires and wishes in order to clearly hear from the Lord on how to get there. This is a process I call “visionizing,”strategizing with the Holy Spirit in discerning the future direction of a ministry or organization.
In Chi Alpha, we do not desire random. We believe the most strategic mission field in the world, the secular university, deserves deliberate attention. In part, Chi Alpha does this by regularly holding several conferences and gatherings. Chi Alpha also prepares future missionaries through our Campus Missionaries-in-Training internship program.
During the EMT’s three days together, the Holy Spirit clearly revealed six specific and strategic items relating to where He wants Chi Alpha to be in the next five years. We are taking time to consult with Him on how He wants us to get there and Chi Alpha will unveil the six things the Lord spoke to us at a later date. We train and plan with the Holy Spirit to fulfill our mission to reconcile students to Christ, transforming the university, the marketplace, and the world.
Thank you for partnering with us!
All views expressed on this blog are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the view of Chi Alpha Campus Ministries, U.S.A., U.S. Missions, and The General Council of the Assemblies of God.