Good Churches Claim a Vision of the Future

by Reba Collins

When searching online for a church, you’ll find that many of their Websites take way too much space detailing the church’s enthralling history. Frankly, when all is said and done, you need to figure out where a church is going, not where it’s been.

One of the hallmark characteristics of a good church choice is that they are always moving toward the future. They are not ignoring the present by living in the past; they’re not in maintenance mode by being content with the status quo; and they sure don’t see “the fix” to today’s reality lying in the past’s successes. Good churches offer a compelling purpose for doing everything they do and they clearly state what will be better when people engage in what the church is doing. And really good churches can do this within a few short sentences.  

Recently, we had the privilege to walk with a group of church leaders as they did the soul-searching, gut-wrenching, hard work of discerning a vision and mission for their church. When we first met this church, the leadership couldn’t answer three basic questions that every future-focused church should be able to explain:

1.      Why they exist as a Body of Christ. (Vision)

2.      What they want to help God accomplish as a group of Christ-followers. (Mission)

3.      How their Ministries help them achieve their Vision and Mission. (Alignment)

It took this group of leaders a year to discern the vision God was calling them to champion and the purposeful mission God had tasked them to achieve. After many prayers, discussions, observations, blow-ups and breakdowns, these dedicated leaders began to see the future where God was leading them. God showed them how their unique qualities equipped them to do something significant in people’s lives.

They took the time to listen for God’s direction. They examined themselves from the eyes of an outsider. They processed as a team. And they now have simple, clear statements that communicate to people inside and outside, exactly who they believe they are called to be. 

Ultimately, they filtered their existing 35 ministries through their new Vision and Mission and committed leadership, time, and resources to 11 of those ministries. Their Pastor looked at what they accomplished and said, “This seems so simple now.” Bingo!

Many churches have punted on this process because it’s too hard, too uncomfortable, too time consuming, or too disruptive. So they usually settle for vague, uninspiring Vision and Mission statements that wind up dying on a wall because they:

1.      Don’t differentiate the Vision (your view of the future) from the Mission (how you achieve your Vision)

2.      Don’t make the Vision and Mission specific and substantive

3.      Don’t speak in language that is clear to outsiders

Use these examples of clear Vision and Mission statements to spot a good future-focused church. Then, choose a good church by how simple it is to connect their ministries back to their vision and mission:

• Vision: Changing Lives, Healing the Community, Building the Kingdom of God One Precious Life at a Time.
• Mission: To be a church that does what Jesus says and loves like Jesus loves.

• Vision: Changing lives, transforming communities and renewing the church.
• Mission: To build a Christian community where non-religious and nominally religious people are becoming deeply committed Christians.

• Vision: Creating churches that unchurched people love to attend.
• Mission: To lead people into a growing relationship with Christ.

• Vision/Mission: Bold. Inclusive. Relevant. UVUMC has a deeply held desire to change and intentionally move towards God’s calling for radically inclusive love of neighbor.

When a Vision and Mission can’t be stated simply, understood clearly, and applied easily, neither insiders nor outsiders will understand or accept them. That eventually leads to a lack of ministry effectiveness, and that is fatal to church vitality and spiritual growth.

The bottom line: Good churches focus on the future and paint their future pictures with compelling vision statements, actionable mission statements, and ministries that align with both.