A Vision Statement Doesn’t Mean You Have Vision

July 20, 2010 in Growing Strategies with 3 Comments

Last week’s conversation about declining churches was a good reminder of having clarity when it comes to vision. Just having a vision statement hanging on a wall doesn’t count. The statement itself is just a small portion of vision. Real vision involves clearly defining the unique contribution that your church intends to make and then intentionally aligning everything you do behind that vision.

My friend, Paul Allen, shared this in a blog post over on MinistryStrategies.com today:

“If you’re like many churches, you and your leadership team have developed a vision statement that defines who you are—or who you want to be—as a church community. And perhaps, like many churches, it’s displayed on your website, written on your printed materials, and even routinely shared within your congregation.

“However, is your vision evident in every aspect of your ministry? Do your policies, procedures and budget reflect your vision? On occasion, I’ve asked pastors to not send me their vision statement but allow me to look at their job descriptions, policies, budget and staff handbook to see if their vision rises from the pages. Sometimes the differences are astounding.”

Check out the full article for more of Paul’s thoughts on what it looks like for a church to live out its vision.

3 Responses to “A Vision Statement Doesn’t Mean You Have Vision”

  1. Marc Millan July 20, 2010 at 12:48 pm #

    Great post from Paul, thanks for the re-post, you say it best here Tony,
    ” Real vision involves clearly defining the unique contribution that your church intends to make and then….. intentionally aligning EVERYTHING you do behind that vision.”
    That is the key, aligning EVERYTHING behind it.
    M_

  2. T Woznek July 20, 2010 at 3:17 pm #

    Great thoughts! Allignment is a bigger issue than vision. I’m trying to discern what is better to focus on: vision or values? Being or doing?

  3. justin July 21, 2010 at 5:00 pm #

    i think that’s a key question, to discern whether or not your “vision” for your local church is actually finding it’s way through the entirety of your extended ministries. awesome question.

    i actually just recently did some pretty intense reviews of this very topic – you can read about my journey from a “vision statement” to a “divine picture” over here: http://www.abeautifulmess.info/2010/07/vision-statement/

    thanks for sharing this by the way!