“Goals & Visions”『目標和異象』

Proverbs 29:18; Jeremiah 29:11-13, 10/16/2005【林孝榮長老/Victor Lin】

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Introduction

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” (Proverbs 29:18 KJV) No institution will endure without vision. Without vision, our communities will perish. Without vision our children will perish. Without vision, churches will perish. Without vision, we as a people will eventually perish. The word perish as used in the text, infers that apart from vision, the people will run wild. It means, a lack of restraint, a world that has gone wild. So if vision is so important, what is it? Let me start by giving you a practical definition.

As most of you know, our church has been working with the Trinity church to add an extension to the fellowship hall. This extension will provide an office for Pastor Mao and meeting rooms for our church members. Over the past two years, our session has met with the Trinity session to discuss and drawn up plans. There are many decisions that have to be made in a renovation project, and it takes knowledge and experience to plan it out. A renovation project has two phases. The first phase is perhaps the easier part. In the first phase, we figure out how many square feet of space we need and how much we can afford to pay. Ok, now we can call this our mission. Our mission is to extend the fellowship hall based on these specifications. But how to do that is not given in our mission. Here is where the second phase, which is a little more complicated, comes in. To complete our mission requires a vision of how we are going to accomplish it. This vision will lay out the details needed to reach the goal of completing the specified fellowship hall renovation. In other words, our mission is the goals that we want to reach, and our vision is a plan of how to reach our goals. Now this is what I called a practical definition of vision. Is this the meaning of the word “vision” used in Proverbs 29:18?

I am not sure that I have a definite answer but let me attempt to answer the question in the following way. The word “vision” in Proverb has been translated in different ways in various translations, but the Hebrew word means, “vision, oracle, or divine communication.” When we talk about a vision or “divine communication,” it usually involves something that is not within our own grasp. A God-given vision will bring glory to God and connect us with His perfect plan. A true vision from God is not self-seeking, but praises God and brings glory to Jesus Christ.

Why is a divine vision so important for our church?

Our Lord tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (NIV). When we receive a great divine vision, it will give us direction, promote a unifying purpose, and generate hope.

Direction

Matthew 28:19-20 says: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (NIV). This is what we call the “great commission”. When churches try to come up with a mission statement, this is basically it. In essence, our mission is “Evangelism and Discipleship”. First we are to bring the lost to Christ, and second, we are to build up the saved in obedience to God. Our mission is to reach people for God and teach people to be Disciples of Christ. All else should revolve around these two things.

I think all if not most believers can agree on that. But the vision of how to carry out the great commission is going to be unique to a church and to TAPCVC. What works for one church may not work for our church. So we need to seek God’s vision that will allow us to fulfill our mission effectively.

Unity

Both vision and mission are two important components of the church. Again mission is the general rule for all churches. Mission includes fellowship, worship, evangelism, discipleship and service. But vision is specific to the uniqueness of a specific church. Whenever we, as a body of Christ, can share a common divine vision through the help of the Holy Spirit, our church will experience the unlimited power of God. Vision will place our church under one accord. A shared vision will allow us, islands of individuals, to gain awareness of our joint membership in the body of Christ.

Hope

I found this helpful illustration about hope on the web. Both the hummingbird and the vulture fly over our nation’s deserts. All vultures see is rotting meat, because that is what they hope for. They thrive on that diet. But hummingbirds ignore the rotting dead animals. Instead, they hope for the colorful blossoms of desert plants. The vultures live on the past. They fill themselves with what is dead and gone. But hummingbirds live on what is. They fill themselves with freshness and life. Each bird finds what it is hoping for. We all do. A vision from God gives us hope that our church will prosper.

How do we catch a vision for our church?

So if a divine vision for our church is so important, how do we catch it? Two key ingredients for catching God’s vision for our church are prayer and planning.

Prayer

Jesus has given me a conviction that prayer is critical to catching the right vision. Why? Because we see what we are looking for, and often miss what we don’t expect to see. Prayer keeps us open to the guidance of the Spirit. God says in Jeremiah 29:12-13 “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (NIV) Prayer keeps our eyes and our hearts in the expectant mode. When God begins to move, we are only going to see it if we are ready and watching. We need to pray for an opportunity to work for God’s kingdom. What is the difference between a dreamer and a visionary? Dreamers dream about things being different. Visionaries envision themselves making a difference. Dreamers think about how nice it would be for something to be done. Visionaries look for an opportunity to do something. We need to be visionaries for God in this world and prayer will get us started on that journey.

Planning

It would be foolish to have a vision of having a Taiwanese-American church in Camarillo, but not going out to invite Taiwanese-Americans and in general any God seeking people in Camarillo and the surrounding community to come to the church. It would be sort of like Noah setting sail in a big boat with no animals. Not a good plan at all. Well, let me tell you, when God says it will rain, get the ark built and start inviting people. Because when He is ready, IT WILL RAIN and we need to bring people out of the rain. But it will happen according to His schedule and not ours.

If God has given us a vision, we need to go ahead and start developing a plan. Assuming you had the resources, what would you do? Assuming you

had the time, what would you do first? The story of Nehemiah shows us how Nehemiah planned out the steps to pursue his vision of rebuilding the temple walls of Jerusalem. He made sure that he was ready to present his vision to the king given the opportunity.

If we lack a divine vision for our church, we need know if either failure to pray or failure to plan is a problem. If the person you have been praying for were to ask you about what is the mission and vision of your church, do you know what you would say? You may say that there are always more questions than answers and more obstacles than solutions.

How to implement God’s vision?

There is a Japanese proverb that says; “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.”

Print & Publicize

One thing that we could do immediately as a group after corporate prayer and planning is to draft a church vision statement. We need to spend time collectively to talk about the vision and dreams for the church and write them down. This vision will take into account the strengths, resources, and abilities of our church. As a congregation we should work to seek consensus, not compromise. We need to identify only the most essential elements for the church. Out of this forum, a vision statement will be developed that is unique and specific to our church.

Put in the vision statement only what is essential for our church. The statement can be a single sentence, but not more than a short paragraph. An effective vision statement should be biblical, specific, transferable, motivating, and measurable. It should be stated in terms of results, not activities; stated in a manner that motivates and encourages participation.

Next we will share the draft vision statement with key groups in the congregation. Everyone should be encouraged to give honest feedback. The feedback will then be synthesized and incorporated into the final vision statement. Each word in the final vision statement needs to carry strong imagery and powerful meaning.

Here are example of mission and vision statements:

Mission Statement

To bring people to salvation in Jesus Christ and disciple them in their relationship with Christ (Matthew 28:19,20).

Vision Statement

We believe God has called us to reach the unchurched of our city by providing caring structures for families, diversity in worship, small caring groups, and knowledge of spiritual gifts.

Once our vision statement has been finalized, the statement can then be shared with the public. We should print it out in our church bulletin and publicize it so members and visitors will know what our church is all about.

Conclusion:

Remember, our mission is to reach the lost for Christ and teach people to be disciples of Christ. What is God’s vision for our church to accomplish this? We know it will come by PRAYER and PLANNING and it will take PASSION and COMPASSION to accomplish.

A divine vision pushes us to see beyond the surface of human potential. It is not what we are but what we can become. A unified people with direction and hope. Vision is a picture what our church can be when empowered by God’s spirit. Our present church state is reflection of our vision statement. Where we are as a church is directly connected to our vision or the lack thereof.

Details can still be fine tuned, but the main thing is to “DRAFT A VISION STATEMENT” for without a vision, the people perish.