Tuesday, August 17, 2010

A plan for planning



       Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed Prov. 15:22

              Prepare plans by consultation, and make war by wise guidance. Prov. 20:18

                     Wise planning will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. Prov. 2:1
                              
                           Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established. Prov. 16:3


There is an old saying “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail”- it’s old but still true. For every hour you spend in planning, you’re likely to save five times that in execution. God desires to use our lives in purposeful ways. He delights when we use the minds, passion and zeal He has given us for His purposes and to glorify Him!


Here are some helpful things to think about as you trust Him to build a Spiritual Movement of God on your campus:

            1. Gather the group you have to plan and pray together. Prov. 15:22

            2. What’s the Vision he wants to give you for reaching your campus

         *Keep the Mission in mind: “to glorify God through sharing the gospel with lost 
                 students and through the training of faithful disciples who will carry the good 
                 news about Christ to the ends of the earth. (one suggestion)

         *How could this mission be lived out on your campus?! Dream big - we have a big 
                 God!

         *Write out some of those things that God impresses on your hearts about what you 
                 would like to see happen in your movement. 
                 Cultivating a vision for my campus. 

3. The Steps. How will you reach the vision God gives you? What steps do you want to take? At the core of every spiritual movement for God are the steps the Lord has already laid out for us in the Great Commission.

    Use the planning worksheet in this section to help you brainstorm ideas and track with 

      Step ~ Win – Providing opportunities for people to come to know Christ 
                             Personally

      *What are some ways to gather non-believers especially the first few weeks 
             on campus?

     
      *What are some ideas for evangelistic outreaches?

Step ~ Build – Providing opportunities for people to grow and develop

     *Who can lead small group Bible studies?       How can we serve the campus & 
            the community? (Service can be a great expression of God’s love and a great 
            way to grow in our faith.

     *What else can we do to help believers grow?


Step ~ Send – Providing opportunities for people to go out and share Christ’s 
                        love.

    *Are there ways we can partner with others to reach our campus?

    *How can we recruit people to conferences, mission trips etc.?

Something to consider before you start planning:
A study has been done showing that the friends and alliances that first-year students make in the first 2 weeks of school turn out to be the friends and alliances that they maintain throughout their career as a student.  If they make friends with those who enjoy the ‘wilder’ scene, then they will most likely continue to hang out with those friends throughout the school year.  It is very important that we give them some alternative choices for friends and activities and alliances the first few weeks of campus!

Many of you are upperclassmen and may not be planning on doing much on campus until your classes begin later in the month.  I would like to challenge you to sacrifice some of your free time in September to take advantage of the fact that first-year students are very eager to make friends and find things to do at this time.  It would be a great time to hand out the student magazines to first-year students the first 2 weeks of September.  You could host some activities (hikes, picnics in the park, movie night, tea and games, etc) during the time when these students are looking for something to do.

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