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Barrack Obama coming into office in a time of recession said, “We are going to come out of this.” It was a simple vision statement that gave people hope and something to believe in. As church planters, stating our vision can help to gather and motivate a team and supporters. However there is a need for caution when stating a vision.
Make your vision realistic and achievable. It can be good to aim high, but if we aim too high people can become disillusioned and fed up. This can lead to feelings of failure and despair.
A church planting conference had the strap line, ‘More Churches than Starbucks’. This sort of vision statement seems to be more about an imperialistic Christendom culture than the humble but subversive nature of Christ.
We need to remain flexible. As we begin to engage with a new community, we may find our original vision is not relevant or needed in this situation. We need to remain flexible, as we grow, to the leading of the Spirit and not be confined by the original vision.
It is not necessary to micro-manage how you are going to get there. Five year plans can stifle creativity and do not allow room for the complexities of life and organisations.
You may consider gathering a team and supporters around shared values. This can be an alternative or addition to a vision statement. Shared values will help cement the team as you journey together, and can be quite visionary in nature.
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