Blog / Intentional Impact
Intentional Impact
The word impact has several meanings, including having a strong effect or marked influence on someone or something. That effect or influence can be positive or negative. It can come as the result of either a life experience or interactions with a person or group.
Few things have impacted me more than growing up in a coach’s home. My dad, Coach T, coached his entire adult life, and he understood that coaching young people was an opportunity to accomplish much more than simply pursuing wins and championships. He set out to impact his players’ lives in deep and meaningful ways. I watched as he assumed fatherlike responsibilities for those whose own dads were absent and provided counsel to players as they faced difficult challenges in life. He helped me see the value in each individual and the potential in people, oftentimes beyond what they could see in themselves.
Coaching provided my dad a natural platform to impact young lives, but he intentionally set out to live a life of maximum impact. It was a primary focus of his life and one he pursued with his whole heart. He was a godly, caring man, and at his funeral, scores of his former players were in attendance as a testament to the countless lives impacted by Coach T.
Impact is something that we regularly discuss at Shepherds College® (SC). Impact that changes the lives of our students, their parents, and our staff members. Impact that is felt in the churches, communities, and workplaces where our students and alumni are included. Impact that is rooted in the truths that each of us, including our students, has been created by God on purpose and for a purpose. We have been created for relationships, including one with God, and to do good works that glorify Him.
As an organization, we have a pressing desire to impact more lives, which we aspire to do through establishing satellite schools or branch campuses of SC in various regions across the country - schools specifically designed to serve students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Our Shepherds College Power of 1 vision has a stated goal of impacting 100,000 lives between 2021 and 2031.
Our Power of 1 vision also challenges each of us at Shepherds College to impact one person every day. While there will be times when impact happens naturally, my dad’s impact on my life and many others suggests that impacting the life of another is best accomplished through a focused, intentional, and whole-hearted effort.
Whose life can you intentionally set out to impact? Call them. Text them. Impact someone’s life today!
We would love to have you partner with us at Shepherds College as we impact the lives of students with IDD through your prayer and/or financial support. Visit www.shepherdscollege.edu/donate to initiate your SC impact today!
Published in Volume 6, Issue 3 of SOAR Magazine.