The love of God expressed among every tongue, nation and tribe
15 May 2024
In October 2023, our Pioneers International Leadership Team sensed a stirring from the Lord to express audacious faith. We sensed Him calling us to rally around the goal of seeing a doubling of our impact among unreached people groups within the next 10 years – a double blessing to the nations. Among other things, this saw the launch of a new team within the Pioneers-USA base to focus their strategic plan on how to best support this international goal. As the Strategic Integration team emerged, so did a new process for strategic planning.
The four-phase strategic process begins by looking at the “what is” of each Pioneers office. Through a series of assessments and in-person reviews, the team identifies what is working well and what is not. Phase one culminates in a report provided to the base director to have an objective perspective on current strengths and concerns. Phase two pivots towards the future. During this phase, the office utilises an outlined process to look 10 years into the future – where the world is going and how it is changing. The goal is not to know the future, but rather identify plausible realities within numerous topical areas.
Once “what is” and “what will be” are identified, only then can we begin to make informed decisions about changes that should be made in accordance with greatest impact, whether in mobilisation, development, finances, partnerships, or any other area of influence. This third phase, called “the inflection point,” is intended to be a season of deliberate reorientation for the future. Each decision should have clear impacts not just on the office today but to prepare the office for the future.
This brings us to the fourth phase of the strategic process. Phase Four focuses specifically on new tactics which will be necessary for the future. While Phase Three determines where we need to go, and which changes will achieve the greatest impact, Phase Four gets into the weeds of those decisions – providing the greatest likelihood of success when implemented intentionally.
There is one other component in this process which hasn’t been mentioned yet – prayer. Our greatest efforts, research, decisions are all for naught if we are not making them in alignment with our Father in Heaven. As such, prayer is infused at every step of the process, ensuring that we are hearing from Him who allows us to play a role in His work among the nations.
We can rest assured that the Lord is with us in achieving something great for His namesake. At the core of this whole process, is a deep passion for seeing the name of Jesus proclaimed by every tongue, nation and tribe. May He be pleased in our obedience, commitment, and toil.
Jacob Hancock | Vice President, Strategic Integration, Pioneers | Adjunct Professor, Crummer Graduate School of Business
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