Navigating Ministry Without a Five-Year Plan
00:00 – Intro & Albania update
02:00 – Scripture distribution
03:00 – Youth & spiritual emptiness
04:30 – After-school outreach
06:00 – Pastor support
07:30 – Openness to the gospel
08:30 – Village evangelism
10:00 – Youth driving revival
11:00 – Global patterns of growth
12:00 – Wrap-up & next steps
JOY: Welcome to Aston Answered, the podcast that answers all your missions-related questions. With me in the studio today are Ron and Charis Pierce. Welcome back, guys.
RON & CHARIS: Hi, Joy.
JOY: Are you ready for my question?
RON: Let’s hear it.
JOY: In the business world, it’s really common for organizations to have a five-year or even ten-year strategic plan. So I was wondering… what is Empower’s five-year plan? Or what’s your five-year plan, Ron?
RON: This one’s a bit contentious. I’ve been asked it over the years, and I’ve always struggled with it — because we don’t have a five-year or ten-year plan. And I’m not just saying that from my personal preference. I’ve had this confirmed by conversations with national church leaders across the world — in China, Vietnam, Southeast Asia, the Amazon — places where the Church is thriving. And here’s the core reason: I truly believe that ministry should be led by the voice of the Lord day by day. Not by our own ingenuity or strategic thinking. We follow impressions and direction from the Holy Spirit. That can change. And it should change. That’s how God works.
CHARIS: That’s definitely a different approach from what we’re used to in business or even church culture in the West.
RON: It is. But look at Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, God speaks to individuals — Abraham, Moses, Paul, countless others. And it’s always personal and timely. “My sheep hear my voice.” That verse has stuck with me. It’s haunted me in the best way. It means I must listen for His guidance every step of the way.
JOY: Some people might push back on that and say, “You can’t trust subjective impressions. You need structure.”
RON: Sure, and I get that. But after years of walking with the Lord, you can learn to recognize His voice. You learn how He speaks to you. It’s not a formula. You can’t always teach it. But it’s real. And every mature Christian I know who’s faced hardship and seen fruit in ministry says the same thing.
RON: There’s a verse in Proverbs that hits this: “The mind of a person plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9) We want to feel secure. We want control. But God calls us to flexibility and trust.
JOY: You mentioned James 4 too, right?
RON: Yes. James writes, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city…’ Yet you don’t even know what your life will be like tomorrow.” That hit me hard as a young pastor. I was told I had to plan everything — staffing, numbers, outcomes. But how does that line up with Scripture?
RON: Instead, we say, “If the Lord wills.” That humility—that flexibility—is essential. I know it sounds impractical to the world, but it’s deeply biblical. We’re not floating around aimlessly. We’re just moving with the Spirit.
CHARIS: It’s like that story we always remember — the couple in China who walked in just after we had smuggled in Bibles.
RON: Exactly. We were sitting with a pastor in Beijing. A young couple came in and said, “Our village sent us to find Bibles.” They had been praying. And just minutes before, we had received a shipment. They held those Bibles to their chests and cried. “Now we can go home,” they said. That wasn’t a plan. That was guidance.
JOY: So even leaders of massive underground networks don’t rely on five-year plans?
RON: No. They meet, they pray, they wait. They listen. And these are leaders who’ve been through it all — persecution, prison, revival. They trust God to guide their steps. And I do too. That’s why Empower doesn’t have a rigid long-term plan. The Lord brings ministries to us we never even knew existed. Look at what’s happened the last five years — we couldn’t have orchestrated that.
CHARIS: And just think — organizations that did make plans three years ago had them all shattered by COVID anyway.
RON: Exactly. God shakes things up. He doesn’t need our roadmaps. All He asks is that we follow His voice.
JOY: Any final thoughts for people who might still feel nervous about not having a plan?
RON: Flexibility in the Christian life isn’t weakness — it’s maturity. Trust the Lord to whisper, “Turn left,” or “Be careful.” That’s not chaos — that’s faith. And it’s how the Church has always moved forward when it’s most alive.
JOY: That’s a beautiful perspective. Thank you both.
CHARIS: Thanks, Joy.
RON: My pleasure.
JOY: For more on what Empower Ministries is doing around the world — and how you can get involved — visit ronpearce.org.
