You will never know all you need to know about vision. It’s like leadership. You just keep stretching and learning everyday. Read all you can. Listen all you can. Ask all you can.
You should at least know these vision basics:
- Vision drives everything you do. It’s why you can’t sleep. It’s what kicks you out of bed. It drives all your decisions, motivates your people, generates change, etc.
- People give to vision, not need. Don’t raise money for another projector. Just keep casting vision for how you need to effectively communicate the greatest message in history to the most technologically advanced generation in history.
- Vision has to be simple. Clear. If your people don’t know it, it isn’t working.
- Vision leaks. (Andy Stanley) Most people aren’t thinking about it all day everyday like you are. You have to keep it hot and repeat it often.
- Vision is unique. Vision is the way God wants to use your church to reach spiritually lost people in your community.
That said…
I’ve got a thought from this year’s “Unleash” conference rumbling around in my head. Perry Noble said something to the effect of “You don’t need a vision statement… you just need to preach Jesus. Keep preaching Jesus and people will come.” That’s probably a botched up quote but I think it captures what he was saying.
I’ve found that absolutely nothing pumps our people up more than seeing someone stand to receive Jesus or be baptized. These things pour fuel on the fire of everything we do. Maybe it’s in those moments when the vision becomes real. It goes from chatter to matter.
