Spiritual Strategic
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Congregational Vision Vision is one of the four organizing principles of the life cycle and stages of congregational development. The others are Relationships, Programs, and Management. The word vision probably rivals the word paradigm for overexposure during the 1990s. As such, vision is misunderstood, particularly in relationship to other concepts such as mission and purpose. Core Ideology—Mission, Purpose, and Core Values Mission relates to the overarching, timeless sense of God’s direction that is relevant to a congregation. It is the eternal direction of congregations. Mission is the ongoing sense of missional direction. It is generic and could apply to many congregations. In biblical terms, mission is the contemporary expression of a culturally relevant sense of the Great Commission and the Great Commandments. For a congregation, it expresses their understanding of a New Testament fellowship of believers. The purpose of a congregation is the historical reason for its existence. It refers back to a founding purpose. It is a more concrete expression of mission that is congregationally specific. Purpose is everlasting. It is a past to present statement that characterizes a congregation's reason for being. It embodies the core values for the congregation. The core values for the Kingdom of God are expressed in the core ideology. They are non-negotiable characteristics of congregations. Vision Leadership consultant Burt Nanus defines vision as “a realistic, credible, attractive future for your organization.” [Nanus, 1995] Researcher George Barna defines vision as “a clear mental image of a preferable future, imparted by God to his chosen servants, based upon an accurate understanding of God, self, and circumstances.” [Barna, 1991] Vision is the current understanding of God’s spiritual strategic direction for a congregation that is cast by leadership and owned by membership. It is the ability to imagine with spiritual insight, and cast with inspired words, a vision of the future that may not be obvious, or discernable by linear projections. Vision is not something written in fifteen words or less. It is a movement that is experienced and memorable. It is energizing. Vision embodies the current key leverage points or driving forces for a congregation. Proverbs 29:18 indicates that where there is no vision or current revelation from God, the people perish, or cast off all restraint. A healthy congregation has a strong, positive sense of the vision God has for it. Congregations with clear vision find reasons to affirm what is right about their congregation, and build on that. The vision factor includes the attributes of hope, excitement, enthusiasm, and potential. These congregations celebrate God’s presence with great unity. Vision is dominant in the life cycle of a congregation during the Birth stage. This founding vision generally has the strength to be relevant and active for up to a generation of time. Any succeeding vision may only be effective as fuel to drive the congregation forward for seven to nine years. Source and Pathway of Vision Simply stated, the source of congregational vision is God. Vision that is brought forth from within a congregation should be the best possible sense of God’s spiritual strategic direction for the congregation. It should not be the vision of just the pastor and the staff. It should not be the vision of just a small portion of the laity, or a special interest group in the congregation. It should come from a prayerful petition to God the Father. Prayer and discussion about vision can originate anywhere in a congregation. However, whoever controls the congregational resources becomes the gatekeeper of the vision. The pathway for vision is generally congregational leaders. The sense of God’s strategic spiritual direction, or His preferred future, is likely already present in many congregations. However, a catalytic role, best played by leadership, needs to nurture the vision. Therefore, the role of the pastor and other leaders is crucial in the envisioning process. Determining or clarifying a vision is difficult due to the “cacophony of voices” seeking to advocate one approach or another [Nanus, 1992]. Having someone who casts the vision is necessary and initiates the spiritual strategic journey. The pastor is in the best position to articulate the vision. He can cast the image of a future that is unfolding. He can provide inspiration and wording for a vision statement. The congregation can respond and participate in the molding and nurturing steps for the vision journey until there is empowering ownership of the vision. Characteristics of a Vision and a Vision Statement Vision is something felt. A vision statement is something that is written down to have a set of words that delineate the vision. A vision statement can be beautifully written, and there still be no vision. A wonderful, fulfilling vision can exist, but never be written down. When both the vision is present and powerful, and the vision statement is succinct and communicates; something of great beauty and power exists. Here are a few characteristics of a congregational vision:
Here are a few characteristics of a congregational vision statement:
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