Vision casting

My Pastor, Steve Bezner, has written a post at For the Church titled The Slippery Slope of Vision Salesmanship (casting vision without feeling icky). He begins with some hard-learned lessons; a list of things not to do. Among the ones that most resonated with me as a layman with a heart for a people group and visions and dreams of my own:

Stop Making Church Growth the Goal: In our church we talk intentionally about expanding the Kingdom of God rather than increasing church attendance. Do I want our church to increase in size? Of course. But Kingdom work may often mean valuable ministry in the city that will help other churches or even lead people away from your church to help other churches. The gospel has always had people leaving churches to follow the Lord’s call. Release them.

Stop Making Church Growth Your Identity: Jesus said, “I will grow my church.” Your name is not in that verse. Your job is to be faithful. Yes, be intelligent. Yes, employ skill. But when things do not go the the way you anticipated—and, yes, that will happen—you are to hold fast to the finished work of Jesus, not attendance numbers. I was once addicted to church attendance. Don’t be. It is not good. Trust me.

He then goes on to explain the things that make up a good vision strategy. Read the whole thing, it’s good!

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