Need a Vision for Your Church Family? Start Here.

by Jon Mullican

 

Vision work is imaginative work, using our God-given minds to generate an image of a preferred future. In Revelation 21, God tells of a future with a “new heaven and a new earth” where there is no pain and no tears. This is God’s dream for His people.

Functionally then, envisioning a preferred future requires several decisions:

• Are we ready for a significant change?
• How far out do we look (dream)?
• Who does the visioning/dreaming?
• What process will be used to vision/dream?
• Who will implement the vision/dream?
• Is our dream big enough to require God’s help to realize?

“Are we ready?” must be asked prior to beginning a vision journey. What is the last significant change our church experienced pre-COVID-19?  If the answer is “a capital campaign 20 years ago,” the church would be well served by working through a few small changes prior to embarking on the major change a vision process portends.

At HOPE Network, we suggest any vision process looking less than seven years ahead tempts one to create a plan rather than a vision. Visioning this far into the future allows one to be removed from current reality and dream with God what is possible. Some churches have visioned 20 years ahead.

Some churches want the Elders to be the dreamers, others the minister. We have found that a small (10-12), diverse team of congregants does the best work of imagining a desired future.

Vision processes abound and any could be used. We would point churches to Philippians 4:4-9 and Revelation 21 to encourage a positive, God-ordained vision.

Whatever method is currently used to implement church business should be used to implement the vision, UNLESS what is currently used doesn’t work. Then, it would be worthwhile to consider establishing a better governance model for the church prior to moving into vision work.

If the vision or dream created can be done by human hands, it is too small. God dreams call for boldness, willingness to risk, and strong faith.

 

 

About the Author

Jon is passionate about enhancing relationships within the church by facilitating authentic, open dialogue. He has a gift for discernment and listening in a way that allows people to be heard and understood, and provides opportunities for deep connection with God and with others. Jon has served two congregations as Executive Minister, one in Tulsa and one in Dallas. He coaches church leaders using the Enneagram and other assessments to support their personal growth and self-awareness.

Jon earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from United States Naval Academy in 1985 and a Masters of Science degree in Organization Development from Pepperdine University in 2005.

In his free time, Jon enjoys spending time with his family and taking his wife, Dana, out on dates.  Jon and Dana have three grown children, Katie, Sarah, and Daniel and two grandchildren.