Small Groups

Ministry Connections: Small Groups

Envisioning the Vision-Impaired
By Bill Donahue

The Problem: Cloudy vision

Every group leader or small group pastor desires to paint a clear picture of where God is leading the ministry. We work really hard at vision-casting, selling people on the future, or on the “big idea.” Leaders make statements like, “Just think what our community will look like in 12 months if we become a life-changing group!” Or, “Can you imagine what this church will be like when it is filled with teams of servants everywhere you turn?” Sounds good, but why are so few signing up to embrace the vision?

Russ Robinson and I have studied visionary leaders for some time, in small groups and at the staff level. As a result, we discovered three reasons why the vision gets a little fuzzy in small groups, ministry teams and church staffs.

Adjusting the Focus

First, leaders focus on “vision-casting” while neglecting “problem-casting.” Nehemiah avoided this mistake, outlining the problem before ever casting the vision. “Jerusalem lies in ruins; and its gates are burned with fire.” People must grasp the nature of the issue at hand and why it is so essential to the ministry before asking them to take next steps.

Second, we leaders tend to focus on 1/3 of the vision — what we want to achieve. But there are two other parts — what we want to preserve and what we want to avoid. People get tired of hearing about the “next big thing” we want to accomplish, wondering if what we have done already has any merit or staying power. Assure people that there are values to preserve and problems to avoid — and you are just as interested in those as you are in the new direction God is shaping.

Finally, we fail to combine urgency with simple, clear next steps people can embrace. The chart below pictures this. Without urgency or clarity people are bored. The “vision” is just an announcement. Creating a sense of urgency alone, however, can leave people frustrated. You passionately explain why it is important to act (Jesus did it, not doing it has grave consequences, it affects them personally) but fail to tell them specifically what action they can take.

Conversely, some visionary communicators urge people to act without telling people why it is essential to act now. As a result people become skeptical and ask themselves, “Why are we doing all this activity? What is the point?”

But when there is a compelling reason to act (urgency) combined with a clear call to action that is doable, challenging, and rewarding, people tend to embrace the problem and are inspired to move forward.

A Vision Test

Show five leaders or staff members the chart above. After a brief explanation ask the following questions. “How would you describe our ministry’s vision? How would you rate our ministry’s vision on call and urgency?” Are they Frustrated, Bored, Skeptical, or Inspired? Encourage honest feedback.

Then ask yourself, “How would I communicate differently to inspire people to action?” I know if you work at this, things will get a lot clearer for everyone. And with clear vision, who knows what you might see God doing? 

Bill Donahue is the executive director of small groups for the Willow Creek Association

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