Two Key Steps in Getting Things Done

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Much has been written about the subject of vision. Even the Bible tells us in Proverbs 29:18 that “without vision the people will perish.” Vision is something that every person needs to have.

Your connection with your personal vision is intimate, you don’t need anyone else to agree with it, and you may not even have explained it to yourself out loud.

Personal vision is the motivator behind all of your actions and thoughts.

But personal vision and a vision for your church or ministry isn’t the same. It can be challenging to translate your passion and the God-given dream you have for your church or ministry into a corporate one. But when it is done well, worlds change.

Have you ever been to Disney World? It teems with life and excellence; it’s a place that is alive with creative intentionality. Nothing is haphazard. Everything has a purpose and a reason behind it.

The entire place stems from one man’s dream, Walt Disney. The picture Walt Disney had in his mind about what Disney World would look like was so clear that it inspired untold numbers of people to rally around and make that dream into a reality.

The secret of mobilizing people and money to build Disney World speaks to the power of a clear and compelling written vision.

Vision should be contagious!

Sadly, Walt Disney never made it to see Disney World. He died only a few short months before it opened. But his death didn’t stop the entire Company from pursing his dream. They knew what was being built would change lives.

A vision for your church or ministry cannot be insular. It has to be something that every person on your team or in your church knows, understands, and is working toward together.

This is a crucial step in building a solid foundation.

For churches and ministries to succeed, they have to be led by a central vision that they are all working hard to achieve.

When properly developed and nurtured, vision becomes the lifeblood of the church, and the defining element which dictates everything for which the church is known.

Two steps to getting things done

Step 1: Develop Your Vision Statement

Developing your vision statement for your church is both an individual task and one done as a group.

This is a time to get a small group of people together that know your personal vision and heart for your church or ministry. You could include individuals from your launch team, board of trustees, or elders.

This is a process of exploring all the possibilities and narrowing the vision down. Write it down in detail, and use all your senses to explain what you mean.

• Start with what you know. God called you to plant your church or ministry in a particular area - why? Use that basic information to help you understand your current reality. Be honest about what you see and how you feel about it. Change happens when you decide something isn’t good enough: no one changes just because.
• Write down what you want to see change. As a group, bring your realities together and start talking about what you want to see happen. Decide on the change that you want to see.
• It’s okay to work backwards. Work the puzzle both ways. Once you understand the reality you are starting in and you know where you want to end up, just start filling in the steps in between.

How did Disney World come to pass when the Founder of the dream was no longer there? Walt Disney had spent 100s of hours exploring his dream. Drawings. Mock Ups. Pictures. Speeches. All of the documentation turned one man’s dream into a vision for an entire company.

Step 2: Create Your Action Policies

Very often, the step that many pastors and ministry leaders miss is not just writing the vision down, but writing HOW to live out the vision. That is the real secret to getting stuff done.

Having an idea or vision is not sufficient. What I need to know as a the reader is, “Now what? How do I get involved? How can I bring this vision to pass?”

This is where policies become the secret to getting stuff done.

Let’s say that part of your vision is to be “the most welcoming church in America” How is that to be lived out? What does that actually, physically look like? Think of all the areas of the church this part of the vision will impact. Let’s look at a few:

• Parking Attendants - What is welcoming about the parking lot for new attendees? What should the parking attendants do or not do? What do the signs need to say?
• Greeters - How important are smiles in the ‘most welcoming church in America’? How do I, as a greeter, know what that means for me? Is just handing out a bulletin enough?
• Worship - Do we need to stop and welcome the visitors?
• Preaching - What needs to happen here? What if we have many first time visitors? To be the ‘most welcoming’, I, as the pastor, need to stop and introduce myself.

How do you get ‘most welcoming’ to be lived out throughout the organization? That is the power of policies.

You need a “Greeters Policy” and an”Ushers Policy” and so on and so forth that spell out with clarity and passion what it looks like to be ‘most welcoming’ in each role and department.

It may sound daunting to write that many policies; however, StartCHURCH has made it easy with our Policies Suite.

This software tool comes with 55 customizable polices that take the best practices of today and put them in your hands. This accelerates the ability to begin to see your church or ministry have a greater clarity on how each person and department can run with the vision. 

Develop the Best Policies for Your Church Today!

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