Visioning Day (Church location & Date) “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Prov. 29:18

Purposes of Today Time to hear from God in a fresh, new way about our future Time to dream together about ways God wants to use us in our community Develop the seeds of the Vision of our church for the future

Church LifeCycle Maturity Retirement Death Birth Childhood Adulthood Old Age Empty Nest Infancy Adolescence

Start a new LifeCycle!

Four Components of a New LifeCycle (VRMS) Fresh Vision for the future Relationships that embrace new people Ministries/Programs that focus on outreach Structures that anchor accountability

Fresh Vision A recommitment to those outside the “Camp” Asking God for a fresh burden for your community Reshaping values through preaching and training

What’s the Difference? MISSION A broad, brief biblical statement of what God wants you to accomplish. See: Matthew 28: VISION A clear, compelling picture of God’s future for this ministry as you believe it can and must be.

Importance of Vision A Vision… – provides energy – fosters risk taking – legitimizes leadership – energizes leadership – sustains ministry – motivates giving

“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.” Isaiah 54:2

Leadership Passion Congregation Passion / Gifts Community Needs The “Vision Intersection Profile” VISION

Our Mission Field What kind of music do they like? How do they dress? What are their interests? What do they value? Where do they hurt? What are they afraid of?

Top 10 Most Receptive in Our Mission Field: 1.Second-time visitors (guests) 2.Friends of new believers 3.Divorced 4.First-time parents 5.Marriage problems 6.Parental challenges 7.Finances 8.New residents 9.Illness 10.Recovery issues

Who Are The Unchurched? “Those who aren’t members of a church or haven’t attended services in the previous six months other than special religious holidays, weddings, funerals, etc…” Gallup, The Unchurched American 10 Years Later, p.2

Activity What must we do to reach them? In your table group: – Brainstorm a list of ideas for reaching out to our mission field – Consider “what” our mission field is like – Consider “who” is receptive in our mission field

Vision…

What Members Feel about their Church May NOT Be What the Community Feels

Prayerwalk You have 30 minutes on your own to pray, reflect and write down ideas related to this question: Considering our community…what do you sense God desires to accomplish in and through our church in the next three years?

Questions to Ponder… T HREE YEARS FROM NOW AT OUR CHURCH … What ministries are in place? Who is the church reaching? What is new/different from 3 years ago? If a photo-journalist used pictures to capture what is taking place…what would be in those pictures?

Table Group Sharing Take turns at your table sharing what you wrote down. DO NOT judge what others share! After each person shares, complete this phrase…”This is what I liked about what you shared _______________” Ensure each person has a chance to share.

Crafting a Vision Draft Review the samples from other churches. What do you like about how they expressed their vision?

Crafting a Vision Draft Each table group has 15 minutes to draft a statement of our future that encompasses: – Specific ways we will be impacting our community – Specific changes in people’s lives – Specific new initiatives that will help us start a new lifecycle

Crafting a Vision Draft Number of unchurched in our Mission Field _______________ What percent is God calling us to reach? _____% “We commit today to reach _____ people in the next _____ years.”

Where Do We Go From Here? Someone will capture these ideas—edit them and communicate to the congregation. (newsletter, website, etc…) We will preach about these ideas for the next two weeks, pray, and discuss

Where Do We Go From Here? Staff and leaders take these ideas and craft a vision statement A plan for making this a reality will be developed in the near future Today’s Workshop Ad BoardPastor & Coach work on draft (with vision team) Pastor takes to Ad Board until agreement confirmed by both

(Church location & Date) “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Prov. 29:18