L Cole Harper

Although the oft-quoted proverb, “Where there is no vision, the people perish,” is likely not the best translation of the Hebrew scripture, the truth could not be more relevant in the church – or any organization, business, or group.[1] Of course, vision comes from the leader(s). Even before that, however, vision must come to the leader. An active, intentional prayer life transforms his heart to share God’s perspective and desires. He begins to feel what God feels. Then he shares this vision with others.

Good leaders communicate clear, compelling vision. They understand, both personally and corporately, who they are, where they’re going, and how to get there.[2] They lead others by inspiring them with that same vision. A church’s vision ought to be birthed out of place of faithful prayer, revelation, and discernment.

Nehemiah’s example should inspire us. He had a vision: he wanted to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. His vision was birthed out of prayer.[3] He was bold and asked the Persian king for permission and provision! He took others with him on his mission back to Jerusalem. He inspired them to action. Their monumental efforts under his leadership, and in the face of opposition within and without, transformed the vision into reality by the grace of God.

With vision, the people prosper.

Churches Perish Without Vision

Every church and every church leader ought to follow Nehemiah’s example in their own contexts. Unfortunately, many churches revert to doing things the way they’ve always been done, business as usual, predictably repetitive. All the while they die slow, avoidable deaths.

I have seen churches without vision.

One church had several pastors in just a handful of years. Each pastor was warm and kind and clearly loved Jesus – good men called by God to serve the saints. Due to such rapid turnover, however, none communicated any corporate vision to the congregation. By the time each got his feet under him, he was on the way out.

Another church had no communicated vison, but anyone could discern its vision nonetheless. This church wanted to see supernatural miracles, signs, and wonders. They talked about and celebrated these things more than anything else. When those things did not happen, members of the church would sometimes manufacture such happenings.[4] Their lack of vision enabled their drift into a deceptive and unhealthy Christianity.

Some new pastors made time and space to hear from members of the church about their likes and dislikes, hopes and fears, dreams and complaints. Although those members felt heard, nothing changed. Some pastors hosted strategic planning meetings with leaders of the church. However, they failed to communicate their vision to the church members in the pews. Other pastors received marching orders from higher up the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Maybe one or two were just shooting from the hip. In each case, however, the congregation never centered around a shared vision.

Clear Vision Fuels Church Mission

In contrast, I have seen other churches with red-hot, unforgettable vision. These churches seem to orbit around their vision, as if it has a gravity of its own. They know who they are, what they’re doing, and how to go about doing it.

For example, one church went through a season of prayer and discernment before disaffiliating from the United Methodist denomination. During this time, they began seeing weekly salvations during Sunday morning gatherings. One Sunday morning, the leaders of the church communicated their vision going forward: they intended to see at least one new person begin following Jesus every week. Their sermons became more gospel-centered. They revived frequent altar calls. They grew at a rapid pace.

Another church refined its vision down to a slogan they repeated ad nauseum: a Jesus-centered family on mission. Their mission was specifically to evangelize and disciple emerging adults and to meet the needs of the poor in their immediate community. They excelled in reaching Millennials in a place where most traditional churches were mostly full of Boomers. Fifteen years later, they have multiplied to three campuses across the city and are still thriving.

Such slogans are necessary and serve constantly to reorient a church. However, a slogan must represent more about the vision than simply what it communicates. Have the leaders of the church defined who is and is not part of the family – and what is expected of them? What metrics do you use to gauge success in the mission? How do you plan on making disciples? Who are you evangelizing first – literally, which people, of what ages, in which communities, and in what order?

Every church has finite resources (money, people, time, etc.). Therefore, every church must have specific vision.

Francis Chan, a former mega-church pastor, currently helps operate a house-church network called We Are Church. They exist in California, Hawaii, Mexico, and Tennessee. Their vision is different than most churches: they do not want to get big. The goal is multiplication, so one of their unique practices is meeting in homes. Those homes become bases for missions in their neighborhood, apartment complex, or community. When it becomes too large to meet in a home, they plant a new church. These smaller communities allow for deeper relationships and commitment in the body of Christ. This model helps fuel their other practices and make their vision a reality: devotion to Scripture, everyone discipling and being discipled, everyone exercising gifts, and simple gatherings.

How to Respond When You Disagree Over the Vision

Developing a clear vision in a church without one will create conflict. Naturally, people have different ideas of what the vision should be. That is why leadership must insist on unity and prayer in order to discern the shared vision.

In one church plant, the vision evolved over time. This church was a satellite campus of the mother church, so the evolution of the vision created some tension. Sometimes churches will white-knuckle their old vision and miss the new thing God wants to do – at their own peril. They unknowingly idolize their vision above God himself. Fortunately, in this case, the mother church noticed God’s leading in the matter and blessed the church plant to separate and pursue its own God-given vision.

Unfortunately, the process of vision discernment sometimes ends in disaster. One church had a group of volunteers that wanted to see their church grow, in numbers and in discipleship. Those volunteers began to meet to discuss their thoughts and to pray together for the church. Some of them began conversations with church leadership about the need for a new, clearer vision. To their dismay, one of the church leaders condemned them and declined any further discussion. The ensuing conflict and failure to clarify the vision caused many to leave the church.

We Christians, especially we leaders, must seek the Lord in secret. We must listen for his leading. We must discern his will together. We must contend for unity. We must communicate vision to our churches.  Because we can’t afford not to.

Where there is no vision, the people perish.

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[1] The King James Version of Proverbs 29:18 is not the best interpretation of the original Hebrew. The proverb is not about planning or strategy. Rather, the verse teaches that when there is no revelation from God, people live wild, out-of-control lives. For more:  What does it mean that without vision the people perish? | GotQuestions.org

[2] My definition of vision encompasses an understanding of these three: identity, goal, and plan.

[3] Nehemiah 1:4-11 is an excellent example for prayerful leaders to follow.

[4] I want to be careful here to ascribe subconscious motives to those “manufacturers” rather than any nefarious intent. We all tend to see more of that which we are looking for, to find more of that which we seek. Miners find more gold than anyone else, but they also find more fool’s gold, too.