All memorable achievements were brought about by leaders who had vision. God uses visions to excite leaders because excited leaders get the most out of followers. Active followers accomplish much, and Christ’s Body keeps getting bigger thanks to prevailing local churches. That is why Proverbs 29:18 clearly states, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Let a leader grasp a godly vision, and then watch God work.

Some consider vision a picture of the future that produces passion. But passion without God-given focus, purpose and direction amounts to nothing more than a fad. Vision must be irresistible to the leader, not just “seen.” Real vision cannot be ignored; it demands — and gets — one’s life dedication. Leaders realize, “This is exactly why I’ve been put here!” Only then do the feelings associated with that unique vision come into play.

Vision, combined with passion, result in an awareness that nothing really matters except making that vision a reality. A leader who has discovered the very reason why he or she is alive and serving where they are naturally dedicates his or her entire life to their vision. Their money, time, service, prayers, thoughts and energy all go into making it a reality. Passion, communication and action are key elements in knowing whether or not a person possesses vision.

Pass It On

Your passion feeds those who follow you. All the communication in the world won’t necessarily make your vision your members’ — but become passionate in your fulfillment of your vision, and it will rub off on them.

“Leaders should never apologize for the strength of feeling that accompanies their God-given visions,” says Willow Creek Pastor Bill Hybels. Indeed, God expects us to feel vision fully and push it strongly to get His people involved.

You best accomplish this when you “take responsibility” for the vision. It becomes your priority, and others know it. Christian leaders have a choice: To live a normal life of service or to help make a vision a reality by devoting their lives to the task. Anything less means you are not optimizing God’s gift of vision.

The next step is to be able to clearly and precisely describe your vision. You must know how it appears to others and how best to get it across. How? By making your vision concrete. Personify it by being its living example.

Hybels cites President Jimmy Carter’s vision of providing quality housing for the poor as one example. Rather than setting out to do speaking tours, Carter and his wife, Rosalyn, took up hammers at a real project site. Only after months of hands-on work and being seen by millions of people on television did he begin to talk about his vision. And people listened.

Living out your vision means abiding by one more statement: “If no one else joins me, I am committed to making it happen by myself.” Hybels likens it to singing, “I have decided to follow Jesus/ Though none go with me, still I will follow” and meaning it down to your toes.

Communicate One-to-One

Jesus talked individually with handpicked potential leaders and influencers. He looked them in the eye, explained his objective and asked: “Will you leave everything else behind and join me?” It is very powerful when someone who embodies a God-given vision asks another person to join him in it, all while understanding the sacrifice being requested. Most successful leaders have this practice down cold.

But don’t think it will be painless. Having your passion rejected by someone you value can be a real downer. It takes great courage to keep going, but remember to focus on your promise to God and commitment to the goal.

Communicating Your Vision to the Whole Church

The success of this last step greatly depends on how precisely you can communicate your vision and associated passion for it. Even if you say it just right, you run the risk of members rejecting it or, worse still, receiving it with apathy. Either reaction is even harder to take from a group than from an individual. And blurry visions can kill a church.

Do It Right

Meet with your key leaders, staff and elders. Get them involved in helping to clearly define the vision; your congregation deserves it. Start with a study of Acts 2, and agree to be of one mind and heart before you take the vision to the congregation.

As part of this meeting, decide how you will deal with members who disagree with the united vision presented by the church leadership. Most church leaders would choose to speak individually with each dissenter, after which they might agree to release them to serve in other congregations if those people still refused to offer support.

This process takes time and pain. Don’t rush it. And senior pastors, don’t try to pass it on to anyone else — Your church must know you are fully committed to the vision.

Timing is critical as well. Vision talks should happen at the beginning of the ministry year, then be reinforced mid-year (usually in conjunction with a seasonal event), and finally reviewed and celebrated at year’s end, just in time to start the next ministry year’s cycle. The goal is to minimize draining the vision from the congregation’s motivational “battery.” Failure to repeatedly place the vision in front of your people drastically reduces its effectiveness.

Third, don’t forget the KISS principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid. In fact, even though I sometimes recommend putting in place a clear vision, mission and value set, sometimes simplicity is more appropriate. Just get the key idea across well, then repeat it again and again. Make sure everybody gets the same message and knows exactly what it means.

A well-communicated vision has the power to turn “bumps on a log” to the most committed servants of Jesus Christ by increasing ownership and providing focus. It also makes it possible for an organization to continue doing what it does well, even after its most senior leadership retires or moves on.

For all these reasons, you’ve got to have vision, live it and share it — and you’ve got to do it right.

Question of the Month

Dear Ken, We are trying to create a policy whereby when church facilities are used for fundraising events, rent is expected. Board members and the minister object to this policy; they believe requests should be considered on an individual basis. Still, all these causes seem worthy and thus would be excused from the policy. Soon, everyone will be dashing over to use our facility for this and that. It seems we have to come up with a policy that at least lets us break even. Can you help?

Dear Reader, Permitting free use for certain types of activities and then charging for fund-raising ones might set an unrealistic distinction that requires a clear-cut definition of what constitutes a “fund raiser.” I prefer some other form of distinction.

First of all, any policy established must be in keeping with your goals and objectives. To that end, you must look at the people you want your church to help reach on local, national and global levels. This will help determine how you treat nonprofits with the same objectives.

Second, your policy should reflect your church’s philosophy of community outreach and integration. One of the best ways to get your community into your church building is to let them experience it on their terms. At my church, for example, we regularly host Red Cross Clinics for blood donations.

Third, you should augment your policy by incorporating a list of things that cannot happen in your building. It becomes easier to say “no” when your decision is supported by a policy.

The financial recovery issue also should be addressed upfront. It’s one thing if God has blessed your church with abundant wealth, but if renting your building is one means of raising revenue, this would help shape your facilities-use policy.

Beyond this, I am sympathetic to considering each case individually regarding who is and is not required to pay rent. However, you must use a consistent set of criteria, including (subject to your broader policy):

• Whether the nonprofit is a Christian or secular organization. There is a difference between allowing the local Christian school to hold their graduation services in your auditorium vs. letting a secular organization hold its annual conference there.
• The nature of the event — a regular local prayer meeting for the nonprofit vs. another organization’s monthly bingo nights, for example.
• The connection of the event sponsors to your church. If some of your members are involved on the nonprofit’s board or committees, it makes more sense to let them use the church for free vs. an organization whose management is unknown to your church leaders.
• Ability to pay. A struggling city mission will have a more difficult time finding the funds to pay rent than a well-to-do local community club of a national organization.

Some organizations might be able to negotiate reduced rates based on need, but only the facilities administrator or executive pastor — without pressure from any board member or pastoral staff — should be allowed to make such decisions.

Finally, your policy should have a good “preamble” so both current and future employees, board members, members and adherents understand the rationale behind the policy. Your church should be accommodating, but also run by responsible stewards.