“Flatten the curve,” “slow the spread,” “we’re all in this together,” “social-distancing,” “mask-up”—all of these phrases were not in our vocabulary at the start of 2020, but here we are with a whole new set of buzz words. COVID-19 has rocked the world like a devastating global earthquake. Everyone has needed to adjust their way of life and way of working.
A leader’s ability to respond wisely to the ever-changing world in which they minister determines the effectiveness of the organization they lead. This has been made abundantly clear through the challenges of COVID-19. At IBL we have the dual challenge of adapting our own organization and its ministries even as we simultaneously come alongside leaders and organizations who are drastically adapting their ministries. We are responding in a number of important ways.
Engaging our International Partners. One of the biggest challenges we have faced is in our International Training ministries. Thus far we’ve needed to postpone four international training conferences due to COVID-19 traveling restrictions. The multitude of international travel constraints are an ongoing challenge as we have five additional conferences scheduled between December 2020 and April 2021. We are committed to this important work but we must have a feasible travel plan to conduct our in-country training conferences. The resulting uncertainties have been difficult for our international training coordinators and students. However, even in the midst of these difficulties, we are using video conferencing and social media to stay connected with our training coordinators, provide training to some of our students, and, in several cases, facilitate compassion care for our brothers and sisters. From Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, to India and Vietnam, we are continuing to engage our partners around the world as we plan for a significant increase in ministry opportunities in the year ahead.
Expanding our Impact. Though our International Training activities stopped abruptly in March, our Coaching, Consulting and Counseling efforts continue unabated with existing clients as well as several new clients, both via video meetings and in-person when it can be done safely. We are grateful that COVID-19 has not shut down these significant avenues for impacting God’s leaders.
Part of our response to COVID-19 in April was to launch a new channel for communicating leadership principles to God’s leaders. We initially produced a series of Facebook videos focused on effective leadership responses to COVID-19. We then advanced this to a twice-weekly “Leadership for Today” video series addressing common leadership topics we regularly address with our clients. We plan to advance this resource further, to help pastors, teams and other ministry leaders. If you have not liked our Facebook page, we encourage you to go to Facebook and search for “IBL, the Institute of Biblical Leadership.” The videos are also available on our website, www.iblministry.org.
Evaluating our Ministry. The postponement of our international conferences afforded us some unplanned free time, which we used to review, clarify, and refine several of our ministries, including aspects of our international training, our engagement with US bible colleges and seminaries, and our coaching ministry. Periodic assessments of this type ensure that everything we do aligns with our vision, mission, and ethos. This has given us greater clarity on our organizational practices and sharpened our communications with potential clients and ministry partners.
Enlarging our Staff. For some time now, plans have been in place for IBL to grow our team, to be in a better position to respond to the growing requests for assistance (see David Phelan’s “Straight Ahead!” article). With the realities of COVID-19, many organizations have had to cut back on staffing and programming due to financial constraints. However, God has sovereignly allowed us to move forward with growing the team, even in the midst of the pandemic! It is exciting to see the IBL team members and the overall organization move forward in faithful obedience to God’s call even though doing so introduces real vulnerabilities and a dependence upon God’s faithful provision!
Embracing our Reality. It is sometimes difficult to grasp, process and respond effectively to the realities of life. That has been the case for many of us navigating this season of trial under COVID-19. For us at IBL, we have had to cancel several ministry plans; rethink how we can most effectively serve our clients; respond to growing calls for help; faithfully pursue new partnership opportunities; and, like you, address the personal disruptions and stressors that have become part of everyday life. The reality for IBL is that we are busier today than we were at the start of the year. This is a wonderful reality, but one for which we need to continually trust God. We need His provision of ministry partners, Guest Trainers to serve alongside us, and financial supporters to enable the ministry to which God has called us.
As God leads, please consider partnering with us as we continue to make Kingdom advances through the challenges and opportunities of COVID-19.