Renewing the vision

We are always in danger of becoming stuck in maintenance mode. There is work to do, the family to look after, the house to keep clean and running smoothly and so on. Its the same for churches we spend so much energy in doing the maintenance; preparing to lead the service, or teach the Sunday school class, or preparing the refreshments that we can lose sight of our vision. Church leaders are under the same pressures as church members.

Its interesting how often as you read the Bible God reminds his people of his plans for them. As you move into the New Testament how often Paul reminds churches and young pastors of the need to renew their focus rather than getting stuck in maintenance mode.

The challenge is to faithfully remind ourselves of our mission and vision whilst carrying out the maintenance, in fact it is for the maintenance to be with the purpose of sustaining the vision.

It is helpful to carry out an audit of what you do and whether it is purposeful; is it achieving the vision, is it contributing towards where you want to be? Is it recognised as such by those you lead?

We need to do this for each individual ministry. For example for home groups ask questions like this; what is the goal of this home group? Is it edification or evangelism or both? Is it a growth group or a comfort group? What part does it play in the overall role of the church? Are there things that could be done to improve its effectiveness? How would its members describe its purpose?