Cultivating God’s Presence by Shifting Awareness

School Culture

There’s no such thing as a little bit of God! In His presence is the fullness of the kingdom, and it’s impossible for good things not to happen when He is present. Focusing on the presence of God is how we can encounter Him! This means focusing on what He is doing instead of our expectations of how He should show up and move.

In schools of supernatural ministry, students are hungry to encounter God in new and deeper ways and release His presence. As leaders, we can help them cultivate God’s presence in their own personal lives and in corporate settings by encouraging them to shift their awareness and focus on Him.

Below, we share two powerful keys from Joaquin Evans on how to help students become aware of God’s presence as a lifestyle. Over the past ten years, Joaquin has been an integral part of Bethel’s leadership team and has always held a strong core value to pursue God’s presence above everything else. Our prayer is that this post will bless you and equip you to lead your students to draw near to the heart of God and experience greater measures of His presence!

God Is Really Good at His Job

In your school environment, it’s important to remind students that God is really good at His job; He’s good at being God and He needs less help than we may think. Whether it is ministry time, evangelism, or personal time with the Lord, encourage your students to believe that God is present, willing, and able to touch them!

God wants to encounter and partner with your students more than they want to experience Him and see His Spirit move through their lives. His heart is to heal, transform, and connect with each and every person. With this mentality, students begin believing that they do not have to strive to become more aware of His presence. Resting in the presence of God is possible in every situation.

As you lead your students, remember, the presence of God is God Himself.

This may seem simple, but the reality is that when we are in His presence, we are with Him. His presence is not a “side effect;” it is His very being.

As Joaquin says, “What is more beautiful than God coming into the room we are in?” Our job is to recognize who He is, worship Him, invite Him to come, and then get out of the way. We encourage you to intentionally model this for your students and create opportunities for them to practice it. This is key to a transformative school experience! One way you can do this is by inviting your students to share what they feel God is doing with school, and make space for them to process their experiences.

Pressing into God, Not Structure

As school leaders, it is important to never become reliant upon your structure as you lead each day of school. The daily routine of worship, teaching, and connection time can create order and safety in a school environment. Indeed, having a structure helps maintain a steady momentum and builds towards a goal. However, when we become too focused on structure, we run the risk of being formulaic. We begin operating out of works versus a relationship with God.

Don’t simply rely on the structure of your school day, be intentional to press into what God is saying and how He is moving in your school community. While there are routine aspects of school, you can become aware that God is doing something fresh and new each day!

And remember, it is through grace that we experience the kingdom on earth, not through our own works. Operating in grace is based upon the revelation that God is healing; He is provision; He is the encounter. This means that when God is present, healing, provision, and encounters happen because it is part of who He is.

As students begin to understand and live from this truth, they will be able to consistently focus their awareness on who He is in any situation. Again, you have the incredible opportunity to teach your students how to shift their focus and become aware of God’s presence. It will enable them to partner with what He is doing, and see the abundant fruit.

Watch Now

To hear more of Joaquin’s teaching on cultivating the presence, click on the video below for a clip from his Converge 2017 session. Also, to purchase previous Converge trainings, click here.  

5 responses to “Cultivating God’s Presence by Shifting Awareness”

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