One of our core values is being intentional. It means to “think ahead”, look ahead and then plan and innovate accordingly.
I have made so many mistakes in ministry that have brought me to fall in love with this value.
In 2010, we raised more than 180,000 dollars to build a place for the children in Batibo. Ellen and I, newly married pledged and gave more than any other family, out of our poverty. We didn’t have much. I remember a period in Waco that my cell phone bill couldn’t be paid and our fridge was remarkably empty. We gave all we had to pay a ten thousand dollar pledge to that building. After that, we pledged and gave another five thousand. We did this without any money in our savings and I had student loans of about 170,000 dollars to pay.
What if I had gone beyond just doing my best with the knowledge I had and been intentional, researched and consulted experts as to where that building should be built? Because we were an international organization, I believe Yaoundé would have been where the building would have been built and some children moved there and a smaller additional place rented or build in Batibo. Our headquarters would have been where government offices and embassies and universities are to help us then serve people in the rest of the country. We have served over a thousand kids in Cameroon. We might have served over ten million all over Africa if I, as the leader, had been more intentional and led the organization to be more intentional. We didn’t have to have foreseen the war. Only God could know that. But if we had been more intentional, we would have had our headquarters in Yaoundé and not wait to be forced to move there by the war.
By God’s grace, I am not bitter over this shortcoming. I was zealous for God and sacrificed tremendously but all that does not substitute for the wisdom of intentionality. This is one reason I am so big on being intentional now.
“God I look to You, I won’t be overwhelmed
Give me vision to see things like You do
God I look to You, You’re where my help comes from
Give me wisdom; You know just what to do” Bethel Music.
**Being intentional is more than just getting wisdom from God directly to aid in your planning. God is found in the midst of wise counsel. You get it through consultation with experts, field research, experimentation, deep thinking, brainstorming with team members, etc.
