Bible Students

The vision can be known either before or after the mission. The vision is the goal of the mission, and the mission is the carrying out of the vision. Vision show where the mission is taking the church. For example, the vision may be a congregation which is comprised of 50% first-time churched individuals, and the mission would be appealing to the less churched areas in the town. The mission is the way to get to the vision, and the vision is important because the church should know ultimately where they are going. The mission and vision may change, but the core of the gospel and great commission must stay the same. 

When the church planter casts the vision, the church must know how they are getting there through its mission. Good leaders know where they are going and have a vision of what it looks like when they arrive. The vision I had in spring of 2022 was to finish my undergrad and start a masters program, and the mission was to take all the credits I could every semester since then. The vision was a constant encouragement, and the mission was where I could trust in the process and continue to do the work, knowing that the mission was eventually moving me toward the vision. Two years, and many classes later, the vision has now changed to finishing as many classes before the end of the summer. Currently, that vision is to finish all three CCU degrees, and the mission has been to take as many classes as possible every semester. The goals happen on the weekly basis. This week’s goal is to finish next week’s homework in order to do next week’s goal, which is to finish my finals well. I am thankful schooling has grown my ability to see the vision, begin the mission, and set timely, specific, reasonable, and measurable goals for each week. This is only the vision for my schooling, but it has been one of the longest visions, next to calling (which, the schooling is one part of the mission of the vision of calling). 

If the individuals on the team can not see the future with the leader, they will not be on board. The leader should help to visualize the vision, based on reality. It is the not yet, but possible. Vision developers should ask if the vision is big enough for God to get the glory. The vision should be just outside the reach of the ministry, giving room for God to do things the team can not. 

What will people see when the church plays out the mission? If the mission is to do something for the lost in the community, then the vision should show what this will look like. This vision could include a service where many unchurched people are saved, and come to Christ for serious, Spirit-filled discipleship. The vision could be a whole community turning to Christ and changing the culture of the city from worldly to godly. 

The vision is more than a written statement, but is a continual conversation. Is the vision clear and compelling? Does it pain a picture of the future? Is it really possible? Are we convinced it must become possible, through our efforts? The church team should be willing to push for the vision, not sit around and hope it happens. 

The church has a collective soul which must be tapped into in order to direct the whole of the community. The leader must supply the compass for the community to follow. No one can know the future clearly, but one can always plan for the future well. Mission and values is the foundation for the church. What are the values of the church? The value system is incredibly important. 

The values can be understood through giving every team member the opportunity to write down all of the values of the organization, and tallying up the amount of overlap between the lists. Those primary beliefs are the core values of the organization. This establishes where the church will go in the future, depending on where their values will direct them. 

There are values which have expressions as forms. A small group is a form of a value of community. The form is what you do as a church, and the value is why you do it. Unless people mention them, values often do not come to the surface. There is also a difference between the actual and aspirational values. Actual values is what the church is based on and determines where the church is going. The aspirational values is where the church believes they are or wants to be founded on, but is not. It is okay to be moving toward aspirational values, but the church must not deceive itself through believing their aspirational values are their actual values. 

The pastor can not simply give values to the church. The church must develop its own set of values, according to the culture of the church. The pastor can attempt to change the culture, but he must spur the congregation to understand and appreciate their own biblically-based values. The pastor must lead the congregation through the discovery process and secure those values. 

If the church’s aspirational values do not line up with their actual values, they will not be satisfied with where the church is heading, especially if they believe those values are the same thing but are not. The congregation should be given the opportunity to storyboard their actual and aspirational values through the tally method, which will demonstrate where the church needs to grow, what they need to acknowledge, and where they are going to be heading in the future if they do not change. 

The way to deal with this must be started by understanding the values apart from the forms of the church. The values of the church do not need ot be changed if they are good values, but the form may need to be changed. Giving up small groups is not the same as giving up the value of community, Bible study, and evangelism. These things must be expressed some way, and should be preserved, but do not necessarily need to be preserved and expressed through small groups. 

Having fewer values is better. Around six is best. If the format attracts interest from the congregation and seems to work, it should be ran with. The leaders of the church should be involved in spreading the new values of the church. The creative expressions of the church should be used to spread the new values of the church. It takes time, sometimes more than three years, to change the values of the church and to develop a new culture. God gifts all of His people with different gifts, and so all people of the church have something to contribute to the efforts of the church. In order to free the church from a burden, the Lord may close churches or ministry branches to free up those giftings for another, more efficient ministry endeavor.