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 Developing a Vision When You're Not a VisionarySix methods for catching a vision.
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3. Gather a group and jointly develop a vision. When I used to take on a new role at work or church, I would (a) gather a group, (b) cast my vision for this area, (c) see who got on board with the vision. Then I noticed that my wife did things differently. She would (a) gather a group, (b) talk and pray with all of them, until they all jointly came up with a vision, (c) not worry about who got on board, because they already were on board. When people come up with the vision, they want to help make it happen. Two years ago, Karen created an adult-education ministry at our church, and people said to her, "Wow! How you'd get such a strong team of people to help?" The answer was simple: She let them develop the vision. If you use this approach to find your vision, be sure to assemble a "dream team," people with strong gifts in the area. Then, set a few basic parameters, so the group has just enough direction to start the conversation. Why did I think I have to come up with the vision by myself? Now I try to gather a group of strong leaders and together talk and pray and develop a vision. That takes longer, but the ministry lasts longer. 4. Listen to the people you want to help. You don't have to be great at coming up with vision, if you're willing to listen to the people you want to help. If you listen well, people will tell you what they really need. In other words, the people you want to serve help set your vision. Twenty-five years ago, a guy at Christianity Today named Keith did research among pastors who were getting our Leadership Journal and asked them, "What do you need?" One big answer: "Trained lay leaders." We tried an annual 130-page journal for lay leaders, and it lasted only 3 years before it died. We prototyped a 4-page print newsletter in 50 churches, but those churches collectively yawned. One day I was talking to two pastors and I said, "I don't understand. You say you want trained lay leaders. So we published a long journal, and you said it was too long. We published a short newsletter, and it didn't wow you. What do you REALLY want?" They said, in essence, "Choice, customization, convenience." So we launched a loose-leaf notebook (pull out just the page you want and photocopy it to train your leaders) and then a website, www.BuildingChurchLeaders.com. Today, Building Church Leaders is one of Christianity Today's most successful websites, reaching 75,000 church leaders through its newsletter and many others through the site. The point: Where did the vision for that come from? Not from us. It came from the people we wanted to help. |             | |||||||||||||||||||
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