I don’t want to simply grow old, tearing the days off a calendar. I want to be part of something bigger than myself, to be stretched with others, and to experience the life I believe God has created for each of us… to accomplish something with others I could never pull off solo. This is what I would want in a church. If we believe we have the greatest mission on the planet, then let’s get after it, and see what God can do in and through us. If my family moved to a new community, this is one of the factors we would be looking for in a church. Do they have a vision that’s bigger than any one person at the church? Do they have a sense of where they are going?
For churches with an answer to the vision question, it’s often a flowery mash-up of words that really don’t tell me much, and it’s certainly not measurable. Example: We are going to make a huge community impact and love people well.
Your vision should be measurable and at some point, we should be able to say whether or not that was accomplished. How much community impact? How many new people are taking steps in their spiritual journey? Example: There will be no homelessness in our area of the city. No kids will go hungry in our schools.
People fund vision, they fund less when a church is in maintenance or preservation mode. I’m called to steward and manage what God has placed in my hands. I want to invest in a parish that has a vision for the future. I want to invest in what I believe will lead future life change as people take steps toward Jesus.
At a time when over 75% of churches are on the wrong side of the life cycle (maintenance, preservation or life support), we have a real challenge and opportunity at hand. Will we simply submit to the current trend in our parish? Will we continue to age, diminish and simply fade?
How about no. How about skipping that story and exchanging it for a story of emptying ourselves to bring Jesus, the greatest Hope to our world? Or as The Most Rev. Michael Curry would say, will we bring and live the way of love?
What is the compelling vision God is calling you and your parish to? What might your parish look like in the next five years? What is it that would make you jump out of bed every morning? Prayerfully develop and seek a measurable, tangible vision for you in this next season.