Vision Just Ahead

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” – Luke 4:18-19.

Virtually every business, and every church for that matter, have produced vision and mission statements. They create a vision by visualizing what their ideal business/church will look like and then implement a specific plan to make the vision a reality. Vision and mission statements are not a bad thing to have, but unless the church actually uses them as tools, they tend to become lofty “motherhood” statements that make you feel warm and fuzzy, but don’t do a whole lot of good. Our vision is the bridge between the present and the future. How do we give life to our vision of “helping the whole world find and follow Jesus?”   

I talked Sunday on what we are planning to do to make our vision a reality. I talked about the need to increase our orientation to those far from the heart of God, as well as building disciples in the church.

To do that, we must take it from the hypothetical to the real. This can’t be accomplished by simply writing down the vision. It must be put into action. To do that we must all have a common purpose in capturing, defining and implementing the vision. The crucial last step is to take action. Proverbs 16:9 says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”  It asks the question, “what does God want from us right now, right here? Or what must we do right now in order to best achieve and fulfill our God-given vision?”

Let me expand on the vision a little. Please read this and see where you and your talents sync up with the vision:

Our vision is to be real: By that I mean a church that is real in its love for God and real in our love for others. I see a church that depends on the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit. A church that connects, inspires, and motivates people to mature in God. A church that connects people in doing life together.

Our vision is to be relevant: By that I mean a church that welcomes, accepts, and loves all people knowing God has great plans for every person. A church that effectively communicates the life changing message of Jesus in a way that captures the heart and invites the decision to start a relationship with the risen Savior.

Our vision is to relentless: A church committed to continually doing whatever it takes to impact the community and world. A church that is relentless in its desire to show compassion and generosity. A church that never tires of making seeking the lost and building disciples. 

Discussion Questions:

1. What goes into a successful vision in your mind?
2. What gifts/skills do you have that will contribute to achieving our vision?
3. How can we overcome our fears and reluctance in getting engaged?
4. Pray and ask God to show you where you should be engaged in the vision.