In any church or organisation, vision is absolutely vital. Vision brings direction and focus and generally speaking we all find it helpful with a point of reference in our journey of faith in the Lord. Vision can be a personal thing or a corporate thing, however today we look at vision as a church or organisation.

Bill Hybels would say ‘Vision is a picture of the future that produces passion’.

Down the years, I have heard a lot about vision, in fact, every church I have been involved in, focuses on vision beginning of every year. Leaders would often cast out the vision, however I would say it is one thing to hear the vision and another to own it. When you heard the vision for your church or organisation beginning of this year, how do you see it? Do you see it the way the leaders see it or it is just another talk or presentation? Was what you heard enough to give you an element of excitement and passion or was it just words? Are you able to see the bigger picture? Can you feel the passion? These are important and relevant questions that would highlight your position as someone who should own the vision.

If no is the answer to these questions, you have yet to own the vision for this particular organisation or church. There is more to owning a vision than just hearing it. Habbakuk says this: ”And the Lord answered me: ‘Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay’.“ Habakkuk‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬-‭3‬

Let’s together take steps to owning a vision of an organisation or church.

Firstly, you have got to write it down! There is something about writing. Proven scientifically when you read and write regularly, you are exercising a certain part of your brain which helps to improve your memory, focus, and concentration. It is even more beneficial when other senses such as your hearing and sight hear and see what you are writing. There is a cohesion and connection that takes place when writing it down, seeing it written and indeed hearing it being spoken! So write it down, put it on the kitchen cupboards, on your fridge, everywhere where you possibly can.

Secondly, make it plain so your mind and heart can fully understand the vision. It is no good hearing the vision and being totally oblivious to what it actually means. If you are struggling to understand, get some help and ask someone. Clarity of mind and thoughts on vision are crucial. If you understand it, you will articulate it to yourself and others. Not only you will believe it but you will also recruit others to believe.

Thirdly, owning the vision means running with it. When we write the vision down, it becomes a blue print on our hearts and minds and therefore we get an understanding of what it means to equip someone to run with it. It’s every leader’s dream to see people running with the vision. There is no such thing as running lonesome in Kingdom terms, it’s not like a sprint but more like a marathon. The Apostle Paul says “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.“ 2 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬. To be able to finish the race well, we have to run together. The concept of a marathon is more applicable to us believers than a sprint, because we need our brothers and sisters helping us to finish the race well. It’s meant to be a team effort instead of an individual effort.

Finally, vision is like culture, it will take time to establish. Imagine a big wheel at a stand still. As a couple of people jump on it, it applies movement to the wheel. Gradually as people grasp the vision, they join others on the wheel. The wheel therefore gains more and more momentum simply because people wrote down, understood and ran with the vision. With time, the bigger picture unfolds as the vision come to pass because the people involved have been used by God to make it happen.