Your Vision

Do you see clearly?  If you don't you are not alone.  Over 75% of adults use some form of vision correction.   Most of these people wear glasses while the rest use contacts.   Otherwise they would not see clearly.  As one who needs glasses to read fine print I know what it is like to not see clearly.  Without my glasses the words on a page easily become a blur.

At times it might be an advantage to not wear glasses if you need them.  You don't see the dust on the furniture or the crumbs on the floor.  Imperfections around you seem to disappear.   Yet for the most part we want to see clearly, to have 20/20 vision.

Having a clear vision is also important in the life of a church.  We have been discussing what strategic planning or setting direction looks like in the church.  How do you bridge the gap between the church you are today and what God wants your church to become?  In addition to doing a church analysis and a community analysis, knowing your core biblical values, and defining your mission, churches need to see clearly their desired future.  They need to have a clear and compelling picture of the future of the ministry of the church, as they believe it can be and must be.   How will the church's mission be brought into reality?  This is what vision is all about.

The temptation in many churches is to confuse the ideas of vision and mission.  A church's mission, while it might be stated in different ways, is similar to all churches.  All churches, in some way, must base their mission on the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20.  Vision, on the other hand, reflects the unique calling of your church.  It is a succinct statement of where your church sees itself going.  

The best way to determine a vision is by discovering the specific calling of God for your church.  Each church has a specific part in God’s plan in this world.  A vision statement allows the congregation to simply and clearly connect with where the church is headed as a whole.  Your church's programs, events, budgets, staff, goal-setting and strategic planning should align with this vision of the future.  Having a clear vision of your church's preferred future empowers people to see what is possible and to move in that direction.  A compelling vision tugs at our hearts and motivates our wills.  Passion needs to lie at the core of your vision.  When you discover what really moves you, you will begin to unearth your vision.  And it needs to be understandable and easily explained to people. Howard Hendriks says: “A mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew.”  Is the vision clear to your people and does it move them?   Does your vision inspire action, where people want to be part of where you as a church are heading?

The vision process must be bathed in prayer – at the beginning and throughout.  As people pray God will open their eyes to his Word and its application to the people in the world.  You want to do what God wants you to do and achieve.  Ask yourself, what needs might go unmet or how the world might be a different place without your church?  Your vision, your reason for existence as a church, will generally revolve around a need or needs that your church feels particularly called by God to meet.  You also need to think big.   Do not let current realities in your church restrict or constrict your dreaming.  Small plans do not have the power to stir the souls of men and women.   Keep asking, “Is this vision big enough?” Paul challenges the Christian church with these words: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us….” (Ephesians 3:20)  God is able to do more than what we can imagine or even ask him in prayer.  Ask yourself, will this vision stretch us beyond our natural abilities so that we really are depending on the Lord to see its fulfillment?

So let me ask you, do see clearly your church's vision?  Is it easy to repeat?   Is it compelling?   Does it move you and inspire others into action?  If your church's vision remains a blur, then it might be time for some form of vision correction.   But if you can see where your church is going, then there is increased likelihood, with God's enabling. that you will reach your desired future.  This is the power of vision.