In Acts 16:9, Paul understood the vision from God. It was a vision of a man from Macedonia saying, “Cross over and help us!” The subsequent response of Paul and his missionary team is found in verse 10: “After he had seen the vision, immediately we made efforts to set out for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”
In my last post, I discussed the importance of listening well to discern God’s vision. However, it is not enough for God’s vision to be discerned and understood by you and a small group of leaders in your church. Vision must be effectively communicated to the entire congregation, owned by them, and lived out in obedience. Here are some thoughts to consider when communicating and implementing the vision you have discerned from the Lord.
Vision needs to be written down in order to communicate it consistently.
Otherwise, the vision can become vague and diluted over time. Consistent verbal sharing calls for a written benchmark to constantly reference. In Habakuk 2:2, it states, “The Lord answered me: Write down this vision; clearly inscribe it on tablets so one may easily read it.”
Vision must be communicated often.
Just because we develop a vision and communicate it once doesn’t mean people heard what we said or fully understood it the first time. We must speak it over and over until the people in our church can speak it effectively with others. Even when we feel “I have said this so often, they don’t want to hear it again,” they still need to hear it again. Clear communication with repetition is essential to people ultimately understanding and owning the vision.
Vision must be owned by others before it is implemented effectively.
Ownership of the vision begins with the congregation’s respect for you as their leader. God’s favor and people placing trust in you as a leader precedes them wanting to own and follow a vision that you are casting. A colleague of mine, Dr. Paul Badgett, once said, “Before they buy into your vision, they must first buy into you.”
The personal buy-in and respect for you as their leader does not come automatically through the position you hold at the church as their pastor. It comes from you investing time relationally with them as their pastor/shepherd. In other words, it comes from loving well. The people of your church will listen and follow best when they feel you love them and care about them deeply. When your strong relational connection with them is established, then you are ready to communicate the vision in a clear, concise way, with the greater hope that it will be heard and owned.
True ownership of the vision involves obedience to the vision.
Ownership is more than people shaking their heads in agreement with our written statements. It is more than being able to recite it accurately. It is more than having it written in a hallway of our church building or publishing it each week in our church bulletin. True ownership calls for us to lead our church to take steps to live out the vision. In Acts 16, Paul clearly understood that God’s plan was for him and his missionary team to go to Macedonia for work there. Acts 16:10 states, “After he had seen the vision, immediately we made efforts to set out for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”
A church needs your leadership in developing a strategy and actual plan for implementing the vision. Vision implementation doesn’t occur on its own. It occurs with strategic intentionality. If understanding the vision answers the “What?” question, understanding and developing a strategy addresses the “How?” question: How do we plan to live out the vision in obedience to God? What steps do we need to take now?
Vision is the filter that assists in evaluating existing and future ministries.
A couple of questions that often are considered in a typical congregation are the following: “Should we start this new ministry?” “Should we keep doing this existing ministry or not?” A great follow-up question is, “How does this align with the vision God has given us as a church?” If it is just a good idea but does not align with God’s vision for the church, it may not need to be started or kept in place.
By imparting vision, God helps us know what to say “yes” to and what to say “no” to. An example of this is found in Acts 16:7 when God gave Paul a clear vision to go to Macedonia and not go north to Bithynia, where he had originally intended to go. The spirit of God closed the door on doing something good (going into Bithynia for work there) in order to communicate His plan to do work in Macedonia, expressed clearly through the vision He gave Paul.
Vision helps to inform us how we spend and invest our monetary resources.
Churches face a constant challenge of having sufficient resources to do effective ministry. Often, in light of this challenge, questions arise about where money should be invested and spent. A good rule of thumb is “Invest resources in ministries that align with and help fulfill the church’s vision and mission.” God does not give a vision to frustrate us by not having the funds to carry it out. On the contrary, God provides the resources needed to fund the vision He imparts.
Living out God’s Vision and Mission brings great fulfillment and joy.
There is no greater joy than knowing you are carrying out what God intends for your personal life and for your church as a whole. Living in the center of God’s will brings the greatest joy and brings great glory to God. When this occurs, we experience the reality of Ephesians 3:21: “To Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.”
Photo by Pressmaster on Pexels
