One of Paradigm Shift’s culture mantras goes like this: “Pray as if it depends on God; work as if it depends on you”.

Prayers move God to action. We cannot underestimate the power of this. James 5:16-18 says, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” Elijah was just a man like any of us, but he had great faith and prayed for it to rain even when there had been a drought for three and a half years. And it rained! God hears and answers prayers.

We can’t forget though, the power doesn’t come from us, it comes from God who loves us so deeply that his heart moved by us seeking his will. In 1 John 5, we learn that we can have full confidence when we approach God so that when we ask anything, he will hear us and answer us. That’s a promise.

The power of God has been moved to action through the prayers of righteous men and women all throughout history. After his people prayed, God defeated enemies (Psalm 6:9-10), overcame death (2 Kings 4:3-36), healed people (James 5:14-15) and cast out demons (Mark 9:29), just to mention a few.

Elise Johnson joined the South Africa field team August 9th! We’re excited that she has joined Paradigm Shift.

She joined the team in the capacity of the Project Replication Specialist.

This means at Paradigm Shift, Elise oversees the national execution of sustainability plans for the project, ensuring the quality and long-term viability of the program in partner churches throughout the country. Elise is also responsible for researching and vetting future opportunities for Paradigm Shift’s international replication beyond 2011.

Elise Johnson has worked under the leadership of Joel Osteen as a financial consultant at Lakewood Church in Texas. Previously, she was an accountant at Church Compliant Services, where she provided financial and legal consulting to both churches and nonprofit organizations. She also managed the personal finances of a professional athlete, overseeing the accounting of millions of dollars per year. Prior to that, Elise worked on a legal team at Dewey Ballantine International Law Firm in London.

Elise has a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Jonathan Dockery joined the South Africa field team August 9th! We’re excited that he has joined Paradigm Shift.

He is the Regional Discipleship Manager and Project Artist.

Which means at Paradigm Shift, Jonathan manages the writing and editing of the Paradigm Shift discipleship curricula. He coaches a and communicates with Life Coaches in the Gauteng region of South Africa. Jonathan also oversees the creation of artistic renderings for Paradigm Shift’s experiential learning curricula components.

Background

Jonathan Dockery has served in ministry both in Ireland and at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in the United States. There he taught a variety of Bible studies and Sunday School classes, mentored young people and was a part of the writing team for a range of discipleship curricula. He has been a freelance illustrator, concept designer and a storyboard artist on a number of projects for both film and video games.

Education

Jonathan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, North Carolina. He also has an Art Diploma from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California.

Sigauke is a Paradigm Shift entrepreneur whose husband was struggling with alcoholism last year. He hit bottom when he was taken to a jail after being arrested for driving drunk. His bail was set at $390. Sigauke went to visit her husband in jail and prayed with him, even though he wasn’t a Christian.

After praying together, the bail was miraculously reduced to $13! He was then open to prayer and to the things of God for the first time.
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All of us have gaps in our life that need filling. And that is why God made us interdependent on one another. We need others to pour into us and help fill the gaps in our lives.

George is an electrician who is mentoring an entrepreneur also named George, who is a handyman. They are developing a meaningful friendship while George (mentor) is coaching George (entrepreneur) in valuable skills such as how to collect payment from his clients and paying attention to details in his paperwork.

George (entrepreneur) was contracted to do a handyman job at his mentor’s home. The entrepreneur did an excellent job preparing a quote for the job, emailed it to his client and then texted to say it was in their inbox.

George completed the job and even followed up a week later to ask how his new customers felt about the job in terms of quality and timeliness. This follow-up demonstrated excellent customer service and a desire to improve his business.

With the help of his mentor, George is more and more confident in his work as he learns the details needed to retain repeat customers as well as gain new customers.