In Proverbs 24:6 it is written: …by wise counsel you will wage your own war,
And in a multitude of counsellors there is safety. The Message version states, It’s better to be wise than strong... Strategic planning is the key to warfare; to win, you need a lot of good counsel.
After taking over as the Executive Director of CIM in 2024, strategic planning was one of the first plans Dr. Aby Alexandar had put forth in CIM’s launch of the Silver Jubilee celebration. The support of Mr. Paul Asveen, is sought as an external consultant, to facilitate the process objectively.
“Strategic planning is a process of discernment to understand God's plan for CIM for the next three years and direction for the future ”, says Dr. Aby Alexandar. CIM’s strategic planning process focuses on looking upward, inward, outward and forward.
Looking Upward
This is the first and foremost process of looking up to the Lord for his divine direction as we leap into the future. We do not know the future, but God holds it. CIM trusts in the Lord and seeks his guidance for the future. This process is integrated into all the subsequent steps.
Looking Inward
Based on the last 24 years of CIM's ministry, the Directors and staff conducted an organisational self-assessment: “Where are we now? What are our core competencies/expertise? What have been our long-term challenges? How has our evolution been?” Deep reflection on these questions helped the team evaluate themselves and their roles at CIM.
Looking Outward
Outward refers to the environmental, political, social, and religious context that impacts CIM's projects and activities. An assessment of “Needs Fulfilment” based on SWOT analysis—Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, and PEST Analysis—a framework to determine the Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors, was accomplished.
Based on CIM's Vision and Mission statements, the assessment involved the following questions, “What segments are being served now? What segments no longer need our services? What additional segments are emerging? How well are we equipped to serve the emerging segments? Are there large gaps? Is there a need to redefine our core services? Are there any boundaries that we want to lay down?”, all the while affirming and reminding that the need does not constitute the call.
Looking Forward
The process involves Strategic Priorities in defining the CLT, Corporate Leadership Team, and the Key Stakeholders Group. By hearing God’s voice and His wisdom, the team prayerfully addresses the SWOT and PEST Analysis.
The strategic planning process which began in September 2024 will continue till February 2025. Each of the CLT members collectively and individually met with the facilitator. The process also involved many listening calls with key stakeholders including staff, resource people, beneficiaries, and national leaders.
In December there were two major engagements. On the 5th of December, the facilitator and the Executive Director met with the Board members and received the inputs of the Board in the process.

On the morning of December 18, 2024, the staff had an insightful discussion with Mr Paul Asveen. While discussing, he mentioned that “how to get better than my competition?” is the world’s definition of strategic planning but the question we ought to ask is “Am I aligned with God’s plan? What to do when hardships arise? How would we replicate Christ?” He emphasised the importance of hearing God, and being willing to reinvent oneself, “If God doesn’t speak to us, it means we have nowhere to go.” The staff member passionately contributed their comments regarding the future ministry of CIM.
The process concludes with the Execution Plan, Responsibilities, Time Frame and Review mechanism.
The Strategic Planning is meant to accelerate CIM's Vision and make its Mission fully bloom in areas never reached before. In the end, as Mr Paul Asveen said, “In God’s Kingdom, the journey is more important than the destination because the destination is already known.” As fellow labourers for the Kingdom, we request your prayers and support to discern God’s voice through this process and be part of CIM ministry to be a blessing for ministries.