Alumni Association theme for 2023 is Everywhere to Everywhere.
What do your neighborhood or church, watering your plants and rolling a snowball downhill have in common?
Remember when a neighbor or fellow church member fell ill and had to stay home? You probably were part of a corps of servants that signed up to take food to that family so they could focus on more critical things. Your neighborhood or church didn't have to commit new or extra resources - the members just chipped in and contribute.
Have you tried watering your plants but still wanted to keep your water bill affordable? Most likely, you decided which plants were more hardy and would need less water and made sure to focus on the plants that needed more water. You made the most of what you had to take care of your plants.
If you live in winter climes or have seen winter scenes in movies and television shows, you know what happens when you start rolling a small snowball. It gathers more snow, and soon you have a large enough ball to build your snowman. You let the snowball do the work of growing its size while you were rolling it.
Scaling makes those three things work by making the most of existing resources and harnessing people's initiative to go from everywhere to everywhere by connecting with each other. BGU's President, Dr. Bryan McCabe, said BGU wants to "scale our impact with BGU across the globe," and BGU alumni are uniquely prepared to support our school's activities.
God led your Alumni Association to adopt the "Everywhere to Everywhere" as our annual theme to take us through 2023. It supports BGU's direction as our school continues its journey begun with an Urban focus and growing to include Business and Global focus. In the latest stage of that journey, Scale is a focus for growth, and "Everywhere to Everywhere" is the engine for making it happen.
What does this mean for your Alumni Association? Alumni everywhere can have an impact everywhere because alumni everywhere have the knowledge to be effective leaders, and can make ministry, equipping, teaching, and service flow everywhere in all directions, not just from one region to everywhere else. This means BGU can scale impact because alumni are already present.
Let me think out loud a little more.
Everywhere to everywhere principles.
Alumni can act on their own under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Alumni don't require a central reservoir of knowledge.
Ministry, equipping, teaching, and service flow in all directions, not just from region to everywhere else.
Alumni are committed to leading beyond their degrees.
Everywhere to everywhere.
Alumni-to-the-world: Alumni generally exercising transformational leadership to fulfill our role as Christ's ambassadors where they are.
Alumni-to-alumni: Alumni reaching out and ministering to each other as well as enhancing each other professionally.
BGU-through-alumni: Alumni being the extra channel through which BGU attracts students who become alumni who reach, serve, and impact the world.
Everywhere to everywhere preparation.
Journeying beyond the degree: Alumni commit to the journey that doesn't end to pursue holiness and their callings.
Learning beyond the degree: Alumni find ways develop in the Luke 2:52 dimensions - physical, intellectual, spiritual, and social.
Leading beyond the degree: Alumni attack root causes and point the way forward.
We alumni are interconnected not just in the unity we have in Christ. We're also interconnected by our common BGU experience. By all of us seeing ourselves as sent and intentionally going from everywhere to everywhere, we can play off each other to create new actions, ideas, and initiatives and help BGU scale toward greater impact.
Coming up
Be on the lookout for an alumni webinar with Dr. McCabe, who will discuss Everywhere to Everywhere and scaling. It will be on 8/23 at 7 PM US Eastern.
Regional groups are coming. Think about being part of a regional alumni group so you can mesh your gifts and skills with other alumni for impact. Caribbean alumni have launched their regional group.
Are you going to Lausanne? Read about the Caribbean conference. Share your experiences in BGU's groups.
You can watch the recording of the webinar HERE.
Leroy Hurt
President
BGU Alumni Association