Jeff Clark knows the value of doing something "on offense." As associate head coach for the Indiana Wesleyan basketball team, Jeff spends time strategizing ways they can meet their goal -- winning the game. But to Jeff, doing something "on offense" goes beyond a winning strategy. It's an opportunity to grow.
The word “offense” can be defined in numerous ways — in both life and sports. In general terms, doing something “on offense” is intentionally strategizing to make a difference. It’s paying attention to your surroundings and identifying ONE moment where you can make a change — whether that be scoring a goal or saying a prayer.
Jeff found his moment in 2020 when he began his doctoral work. For 15 years, Jeff has seen “I Am Third” leadership (God first, others second, I Am Third) lead to transformational impact and national level success in college basketball. However, he noticed a serious issue: there was limited understanding of how Christian marketplace leaders could influence for Christ at work.
He set out with the goal of providing research to help solve this problem and guide their efforts. Jeff completed his doctoral work on “Third Level Leadership: When a Leader Prays on Offense” in February 2022. He has continued since then to remain passionate about growing a comprehensive vision for how the gospel explicitly connects to everyday leadership as he works with people in various settings.
As he worked with leaders (business owners, athletic coaches, institutional leaders, pastors, parents) time and time again, intercession became the catalytic step for God’s movement to come alive.
This led to the Praying on Offense (PROOF) system. PROOF is designed for leaders, helping them grow in their awareness of how God is at work and ways to steward their spiritual influence for other’s benefit. It’s an Acts 1:8 mission for the individual.
PROOF is not overly complex. Rather, it’s a system where you “pray what you’ve got.” Jeff explains: “We want to encourage leaders to use the space they’re already in with the time they’ve already got with the people they already know. You have everything you need to start making a difference for Christ. You just have to start.”
It’s built on a 1-3-2 foundation: a leader takes spiritual ownership of one place and feels empowered by the Holy Spirit as they go to that place. Within that, they have three people they start praying for intentionally. As they pray, they pursue the two sides of prayer, asking “God, what do you want me to know” and “God, what do you want me to do?” Over time, as they consistently and intentionally pray in this way, they follow the Holy Spirit’s prompting and allow that to be the birthplace of spiritual influence.
In other words, PROOF is doing what Jeff does every day — seizing a moment and making an impact. It’s about looking beyond the walls of the church and into communities, learning how to prayerfully impact others. One benefit of PROOF is flexibility. It can be adapted, personalized and changed to an individual’s needs. The heartbeat of PROOF is to provide structure without constraint. Jeff states, “We want to give someone a vision for something that they latch onto it and run with, but God can take it anywhere he wants to take it.”
PROOF helps individuals identify their Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and ends of the earth, making an impact for Christ regardless of the time or space they have. This strategy isn’t just for business leaders or coaches — PROOF is for you. All it’s asking you to do is pray on offense. Pay attention to your surroundings, actively identify ONE moment where you can make a change and pray.
Jeff understands the value of doing something “on offense”, beyond just the court or the walls of the church, saying:
“I love my local church. … But if my capacity to do kingdom work is just when I’m associated with my church, I believe that limits my life. If my only capacity to live the Acts 1:8 vision is by going or participating in a church activity, it doesn’t touch a lot of the things I care about the most. That’s why I think for individuals to have a vision for how to do that in the places that they work, and to influence spiritually the places and the people that they’re around all the time, it’s super important to just live a full life.”