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What Happens When You’re Serious About Your Vision

Orginally published on Thursday, March 30, 2006 at 6:01 AM
by Todd Rhoades

Vision3 What happens when you take your vision seriously? You'll find that you'll do whatever it takes (even if it means rockin' the boat) to accomplish that mission. Here's a great example:

"We exist for people we have yet to reach," he said. If driving distances are a barrier in these burgeoning communities, the church is coming to them."

I love the part about existing for the people that we have yet to reach... that's what Prestonwood Baptist is doing: changing the way (and location of where) they do church with one goal in mind: their vision of serving those who aren't yet reached (the lost).

I wish more churches could somehow catch the vision of what they already call 'their vision'.

Something to think about.

Todd

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TRACKBACKS: (2) There are 7 Comments:

Posted by

Thursday, March 30, 2006 at 7:08 AM

Andy Stanley talks about making sure that “vision” is something that can be articulated quickly and memorized immediately and still tell the story of what you want to do. Not “Taking the Gospel to the World in a Spirit-filled community of faith that exists to glorify-God through acts of kindness and service and...” as the voice trails off and forgets it because its so long.

Before I got to this church I’m at now… YEARS ago, they came up with this. “Reaching People Changing Lives.” You never see our church name/logo without it. Every member knows it, every member’s kid probably knows it. Heck, some of the member’s babies say this as their first words! Okay… not that far…

Is it complete? Of course not. (btw, we only do half of that. We reach people… GOD changes lives.) But we use it as a pointer to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. I KNOW (because I talk to our volunteers all the time) that they think about this, even when they’re doing so-called menial things which aren’t menial at all. Cleaning carpets… Changing babies… painting walls… Doing children’s ministry for kids who often just don’t get it…

I’m not alone in saying I’d do ANYTHING for that vision!
Posted by

Thursday, March 30, 2006 at 8:19 AM

That is why God leaves us here instead of taking us to heaven after being born again.

I always like that car commercial where the guy is driving his SUV and he hears that little voice saying go farther, go farther, go farther… Then all at once he is on a raft with his SUV going down a river. Then all at once he sees a water fall he’s getting ready to go over. The little voice says, “Too Far.”

With that being said. Jesus will take us to new hieghts to chanllenge us. But he will never say, “Too Far.” He will say “Go Farther.”

So when we are serious Great things will happen. Sometimes we may not see the out come of that vision.
Posted by

Thursday, March 30, 2006 at 10:30 AM

Vision? I sat with “D” on Tuesday holding her hands listening to her pain pour out like liquid fire on open wounds. Taking the only book that I know for sure God completely approves of.. I began to read to her. No clue how long we sat there as we lost all track of time. All I can is this: “D” was smiling by the time we closed in prayer. Upon walking out of my office, she grabbed me and held on tight. She whispered in my ear.. “He sees me just as I am and still loves me. I have hope for today and tomorrow.”

“D” is what one would call an “unseen” in our community/town by most. God sees her. Jesus died for her. Who am I to walk on by as if she did not even exist?

Speaking of Prestonwood: Their women’s director is so sold out for Christ that she has even cleaned the bathroom at a gas station just because God told her to. When she walked back in to hand the attendant the key - so got to tell her why she did it!

Isn’t it BEYOND COOL to be a follower of Jesus?
Posted by

Thursday, March 30, 2006 at 10:39 AM

Jim Cymbala “The Church God Blesses” Chapter 5 page 130-133. He tells a story about a missionary named Jay Tucker. He had a vision and followed that vision to the Congo. But Jay and some others had been captured and killed. They took Jay Tucker and threw his body into the Bomokandi River.
A man called “The Brigadier” went to the Mangbetus tribe. They lived in the Nganga region of the Congo. They where totally against the gospel. This Brigadier had accepted Christ through Jay Tucker.
Brigadier went here to keep peace and order. He too run into resistance until he remembered a Mangbetu saying. “If the blood of any man flow in our river the Bomokandi River, you must listen to his message.” So this opened the door for him to tell them about Jay Tucker who had been thrown into this river and the Crocidiles ate him. The next thing you know as he told them this man’s story he began telling them about the gospel. Next thing you know people began being saved. He goes on to say that in this region there are hundred’s of believers and dozens of churches. It all goes back to Jay Tucker dying and being throwed in their river. Now that is what I call VISION…
Posted by mark

Thursday, March 30, 2006 at 11:22 AM

Thanks for the link! Takes me back to my first visit to Willow in 1991. Crystal clarity on who their customer was...the unchurched, unbeliever NOT YET COMING.

mark
Posted by

Friday, March 31, 2006 at 10:51 AM

It is great that a 26,000 member church can do great things...but they better do great things because they have the resources that comes with 26,000 people.

You can have a great vision statement that is easy to articulate...but if there is no ownership it is useless. It can’t be seen as another “tool” by a pragmatic trying to “build a church.”

Vision must be backed up with self-sacrificing passion. If the leader is passionate and willing to wash feet, then the followers will be the ones who do the same.
Posted by

Friday, March 31, 2006 at 11:04 AM

Dan,

SO right. I might add that I think the way that a church grows to 500 or 1000 or 26000 is because the vision is crystal clear, and backed up with that passionate self-sacrifice you mention. I’ve been in small churches that didn’t grow, I think, because the vision didn’t start out crystal clear. The church that hired me last year, that I work in now, had CRYSTAL clear vision which has remained clear. It grew by an average of 100 per year, many by conversion growth, for 10 years straight, in a community of only 20,000!

Vision! Passion! Self-sacrifice! The Kingdom is HERE… NOW!

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Hi... I'm Todd Rhoades. I'm a Christ-follower, husband, father and I love to connect leaders with other leaders. Hopefully you'll find something here at MMI you like and will return often. If you want, you can find out more about me or follow my every step on Twitter.