Alec Hill: Strategic Plan Update

On October 19th, a new five-year draft of the Strategic Plan will be presented to our Board of Trustees. This Plan represents a major step forward for the Fellowship as we focus our vision and align our energies around a common set of goals.

The Plan has been two years in the making and has been through at least 35 drafts. The Cabinet has literally spent hundreds of hours praying, envisioning, seeking input from various departments, and mulling over each segment. The result is a social contract that we are very excited about and whole-heartedly own together.

Reflections on Planning
The book of Proverbs reminds us that planning is a positive activity. “Those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness” (14:22). “The plans of the diligent lead to profit” (21:5).

But, it also warns that human planning is only blessed when we are dependent upon Him. “In their hearts human beings plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps” (16:9). ”Many are the plans in a human heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (19:21).

So, it is both with a spirit of excitement and humility that we will soon present to you a draft of the Strategic Plan. Once blessed by the trustees, it will be posted on the Staff Website.

Aspirations
The Strategic Plan includes three “aspirations.” First, we aspire to be known as the campus ministry with unsurpassed expertise in contextualizing the Gospel for this generation of students and faculty.

Second, we aspire to develop the next generation of great Christian leaders, fostering in them the study of Scripture, global witness, spiritual formation, discipleship of the mind, multiethnicity, and missions.

Third, by 2012, we aspire to increase our number of students and faculty to 42,000 (from 33,000). We also ask God to greatly increase the number of students and faculty who come to the Lord. For our undergraduate chapters, we are praying for a decision for every 12 students; for our graduate chapters, a decision for every 25 students; and, for our faculty chapters, a decision for every 500 faculty.

Key elements of the Plan include: planting 100 new witnessing chapters, building 100 current witnessing chapters, providing better leadership development opportunities, becoming a more mature multiethnic fellowship, improving infrastructure, and expanding fund development capabilities.

Content
The Strategic Plan is composed of three segments. The first segment — and centerpiece of the entire Plan — includes our five “Strategic Initiatives:”

• Reaching more students, faculty, and campuses
• Increasing evangelism on campus
• Developing the next generation of leaders
• Becoming a more multiethnic fellowship
• Increasing field staff funding

The second segment focuses upon “Infrastructure.” We realize that to make progress on the Strategic Initiatives, we will need to do several things: complete a successful Vision Campaign, develop a Major Donor Program, further enhance our Alumni outreach, upgrade our information systems, and create better work space at the National Service Center.

The final segment is labeled “Auxiliaries.” Included in this section are the five-year plans of InterVarsity Press, Urbana 2009, and our four Retreat and Training Centers.

Please Pray
Needless to say, I am very excited about what the Lord has in store over the next five years. Believing that we are walking in the center of His will, we humbly ask for his guidance, protection, and blessing.

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