Leading with Faith

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Leadership is always a journey into the unknown. Whether you are leading a family, a business, or a ministry, you make decisions based on a future you cannot see. You start to create a budget hoping for financial health for your family, business or ministry. You start a project hoping it will be succesfull. You raise your children hoping they will grow into responsible adults for society and for the kingdom of God. Every leader deals in hope. But for the Christian leader, our hope is not just wishful thinking. It is something much more solid and powerful. It is faith.

The book of Hebrews gives us the best definition of faith. It was written to believers who were facing hard times and were tempted to give up. The author reminds them that their spiritual history is built on a faith that is real and active. This one verse gives us a powerful way to understand what it means to lead with true, biblical faith.

The first part of the verse says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for...” The Greek word for "assurance" here is “hypostasis”, which means something that has actual substance or a firm foundation. A few years ago, my wife and I bought a piece of land in the hope of building our future home. For a few years, there was only a vacant piece of land. The hope was there, but it was just a dream. But once we started building, we began to see evidence of that hope. The foundation was poured, the walls went up, and slowly, we began to realize that our dream was taking shape and we would soon move in. Faith works like this. It is the "assurance" (hypostasis) that our hope in God's promises is not just an empty dream. It's the firm foundation that our future is being built upon, even before we see the finished product.

The second half of the verse says faith is “...the conviction of things not seen.” The Greek word for "conviction" here is elenchos, which means evidence. In other words, faith is the evidence of a reality that is not yet visible. During our home-building process, before the house was complete, the blueprints, the foundation, and the framing were all evidence of the final home. They were the "conviction" (elenchos) of a thing we had not yet fully seen. Then, once the building of the house was finished, we received the title deed, the final legal document proving the house was ours. In the same way, a leader with faith sees the evidence of what God is doing now, trusting that the final "deed" of His promise is guaranteed. They see the potential in a person that others miss. They see a future for their church or business that is based on God’s power, not just on what they have right now. This is why a leader with faith can stay steady when things are shaky. While others are moved by what they see, the low numbers or a difficult team member, the leader of faith is moved by the unseen evidence of God’s plan.

Applying this to our leadership means we must first anchor our hope in God's promises. We have to ask ourselves what God has said in His Word that applies to our situation and then stand on that truth. This requires us to pray for spiritual eyes, asking God to give us the conviction to see the evidence of what He is doing. And once we have that conviction, we must act on it. Faith is not passive. The rest of Hebrews 11 tells the stories of people who acted on their faith. So, build the team. Start the ministry. Have the hard conversation. Lead your family with courage in prayer. Leadership always requires a step into the unknown, but with faith, you are not stepping into a void. You are stepping onto the solid ground of God’s promises, guided by the evidence of a reality that only He can reveal.

—

Mark Hobafcovich, is a Kingdom catalyst, pastor, leader, and author of "Defector: A True Story of Tyranny, Liberty and Purpose" , a memoir chronicling his journey to becoming a disciple of Christ inspiring others to live a purposeful life. 

Connect with Mark:  Twitter (X);  LinkedIn