Visioning Tool for Pastors
Christianity Today reported some time back that 98% of pastors cannot articulate God’s vision for the ministry of their church. George Barna had asked pastors, “Can you articulate God's vision for the ministry of your church?” He stated:
“We found that roughly 90 percent of them could articulate a basic definition of ministry. But only 2 percent could articulate the vision for their church."[i]
Also, the article shares this:
David Goetz writes, "In Leadership's study, however, pastors indicated that conflicting visions for the church was their greatest source of tension and the top reason they were terminated or forced to resign."[ii]
The same article lists seven reasons vision is of “utmost importance to leaders and their ministry.”
1. A vision encourages ministry
2. A vision creates energy
3. A vision provides purpose
4. A vision fosters risk taking
5. A vision enhances leadership
6. A vision promotes excellence
7. A vision sustains ministry
That was about a decade ago. What do you think? Have things changed?
Here’s the thing. You, your congregation and your ministry benefit from a well-stated vision. Thankfully, as we discussed in a previous article, God is most definitely interested in communicating His vision and in your ability to make it plain for people to understand.
So I’ve created a super simple tool that provides a great starting place for preparing to create a vision statement. You can access it through the link below and I encourage you to do so.
Please let me know in what ways you find it helpful.
Finally, blessings to you as you seek to discern and communicate God’s will for your congregation in the coming year!
[i] Retrieved 12/12/2017 from http://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2007/july-online-only/042705.html
[ii] Retrieved 12/12/2017 from http://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2007/july-online-only/042705.html