Cultivating a Vision for Your Ministry

Cultivating a Vision for Your Ministry

Do you have a vision for your ministry? This article will help you discover how to cultivate and communicate your vision. You will also discover how to captivate others with your vision and clearly define your vision.

What it means to Cultivate a Vision for your ministry:
A gardener looks at a plot of barren ground in the spring. Yet he “sees” what others do not see. The gardener sees the rows of carrots, beets, cabbage and other vegetables. He also sees vines filled with pumpkins, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers. The gardener sees all this in a piece of untilled ground. That is Vision. Now begins the cultivating. The gardener tills the soil, buys and plants the seeds in an orderly fashion. Then over time, he waters, fertilizes, weeds and tends to his garden. Every week, the gardener can see the ripened crops even at the early stages of growth. At last, when autumn arrives, that which the Gardener saw in his vision, has become a reality. Because of his proper planning, the garden has produced much fruit. If you want to cultivate a vision for your ministry you must be able to “see” the ministry in it’s completed form, even when it is nothing but a dream. From there, you do what is necessary to bear much fruit.

SCRIPTURAL BASIS:
Habakkuk 2:2 “Write down the revelation (Vision) and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may
run with it.”

Moses (Hebrews 11:23-29) Moses’ Parents had a vision for Moses. Moses had a vision for his own life. A life of disgrace, because he saw him who was invisible and he looked ahead to a greater reward. He listened for God’s instructions and followed them.

Paul (Acts 26:19-20) “So then, King Agrippa, I wan not disobedient to the VISION from heaven. First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.”

Nehemiah is a book about a man with a vision to repair, rebuild and restore. He had a vision to see what once was great, become great again.

DEFINITIONS:

VISION: “The ability to perceive something not actually visible.” Webster’s

MISSION: The special tasks or purposes a person or an organization strives to achieve daily.

CULTIVATING YOUR VISION

Begin with Prayer

Ask God to show you what cannot be seen

Write a list of Needs, Wants, Desires, Dreams

Dream the Biggest Possible dream you can

Think about it all the time

Strategize how you can achieve your vision

COMMUNICATING YOUR VISION – FOLLOW THESE STEPS

STEP 1: Begin at the top – Is this what your Senior Pastor Wants?

STEP 2: Begin at the core – Gather your most loyal people

Share it with them

Ask for their honest feedback

Talk about it often

STEP 3: Begin to share it with other team members

STEP 4: Begin to share it with people of influence in the church (Staff, Board, Ministry Heads)

STEP 5: Begin to share it with the entire congregation (Newsletters, Bulletin, Public Address)

STEP 6: Repeat steps 1-5 over and over and over again

CAPTIVATE OTHERS WITH YOUR VISION

Fulfill your vision in little steps at first

Understand the Law of Multiplication.
Managers think Addition. Visionaries think Multiplication.

Let the little steps take you to bigger steps

Broadcast your small victory

Constantly redefine the “HOW” of your Mission so that you can achieve your vision

CLEARLY DEFINE YOUR VISION

Set Goals and Objectives

Know where you are going, before you begin your journey

“Begin with the end in mind” Stephen Covey

Know who you are


VISION WORKSHEET

Remember: begin with the end in mind.

Look as far into the future as you can. Where do you see your ministry ending up?

How far in the future are you looking? ______________years

# of those attending ________________
Children ______________
Adults ________________

What do the people attending your ministry look like? (age, race, social-economical background, etc.)




# of buildings or rooms you would need ______________________

# of volunteers you would need ________________________

# of paid staff you would need ________________________

Location of your ministry (same or different) ______________________


What are your current needs? (facilities, # of volunteers, # of paid staff, other needs)



What will be your future needs? (facilities, # of volunteers, # of paid staff, other needs)

In ONE year:

In TWO years:

In THREE years:

In FOUR years:

In TEN years:


Write a list of what you want that you currently don’t have:



Write a list of desires that you would like fulfilled:

Now, DREAM BIG. If you had everything you needed to accomplish your vision, where would you be right now?