Watching in Hope, Walking in Faith

“We’ll be watching.”

Those are the words I received at the end of a meaningful conversation with a dear friend and deeply invested partner where we celebrated what God has accomplished through Partners Worldwide over the years, what He’s doing today, and most importantly what He’s calling us into. At first, his “we’ll be watching” left me pensive, but I soon realized his farewell was a powerful sign of co-ownership and belief, an assurance of guidance, companionship, and partnership as we head into the future.

As I engaged with people around the world these last six months, I heard exactly that. I heard people expressing their belief in the power of partnership and our strategic direction as we wrap up our first year toward our Vista 2030 dream of 1 million redemptive businesses and 15 million people leaving poverty behind.

During this period of transition, we’ve had the opportunity to build a truly global leadership team. We’ve also strategically added new partners and teammates that will help us expand this life-giving ministry and we’re already seeing significant growth. God has given us truly world class teams and partners, each member uniquely equipped for the opportunities before us, committed to the end of poverty and with a deep belief in the call to business and the power of partnership.

Together, we’ve identified the primary levers to expand our impact in each country, each region, and across the world, and are rallying the right resources around those levers.

And we’re doubling down on partnerships. Everything we offer comes through and out of healthy, thriving partnerships. So we’re focusing all our resources to make sure every partnership can be as effective as possible, unlocking the potential of everyone in it, both growing and deepening impact.

We began this year with a powerful platform for change, an incredible network of partners, all aligned around a compelling and clear vision for the future. Over five months later, we’re well on our way to the bold goals of Vista 2030. We have the plans, teams, and partners to increase and deepen our impact. Yet we’re keenly aware of the limits of our abilities. We run into them every single day – it’s a beautiful reminder to walk first in faith, resting in the Lord. The scale and depth of impact envisioned in Vista 2030 is far greater than we could accomplish on our own. Only through the Lord can it be made possible.

Thankfully for us, the Lord is watching.