by Sean Sears
While the 12 disciples were all given the same responsibility to make disciples, there is no question each of them looked and acted differently. I believe that was intentional on the part of Jesus. Like those disciples, I believe it is his plan to make each congregation unique and to place them in their specific communities intentionally. Our churches have the same mission, but look and act differently.
As pastors, I believe part of our job is to discover the uniqueness of our church and the community in which God has placed us. The more we know about how God put our local church body together and the more we know about our community, the better positioned we are to meet one with the love of the other. The more a community feels loved by us who follow Jesus, the more likely we are to be used by God to draw that community to repentance and faith. And the more clearly we define what that looks like (meaning, our vision for our local churches), the more disciples we make.
The vision isn’t to grow our churches. That’s the wrong focus and it’s not even our job. Jesus said He would grow the church. We don’t pray for Jesus to do His job. He already said he would. So, if it isn’t happening, there’s a reason. There are barriers keeping it from happening. Unconfessed sin in the heart of believers? Possibly. A lack of concern for those far from Jesus? Maybe. Our job is to identify and ruthlessly eliminate every non-biblical barrier preventing people from knowing and following Jesus.
The vision of the church isn’t to make disciples either. That’s our mission, our purpose. And that mission hasn’t changed since Jesus initiated and handed off his ministry (Matthew 4:19 and 28:19, respectively). Our vision is what disciple-making will look like within the church He is building — in the community he has placed us. Specifically, what should disciple-making look like in your church, in your town? How is it unique? Trying to implement everything you heard at (insert latest conference here) can become an exercise in frustration unless those new methods or ideas fit within your clearly articulated vision for your specific church. The longer you wait to craft your clearly articulated vision, the longer your church may drift in true disciple-making.
Four Guidelines to Clarifying Vision:
- Clarifying Vision looks as much to the past as it does the future
- Clarifying Vision considers strengths as much as limitations
- Clarifying Vision is about identity as much as methodology
- Clarifying Vision engages what God is already doing around you
Will Mancini, Church Unique (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008), pp 53
Will Mancini has written, in my opinion, the best how-to guide for developing a unique, Holy-Spirit-driven vision in his book Church Unique. I’d like to summarize one part of that book which he calls “your kingdom concept.” Your kingdom concept is where three independent characteristics intersect. It’s the first of four steps in identifying the unique way God intends you to make disciples. I would encourage you to take time to work through this on a separate sheet of paper or on a white board with leaders in your church.
Think of a venn diagram with three intersecting circles. Each circle is labeled as follows: community position, collective potential, and clear passion. (Mancini labels them differently, but these have been easier for me to remember.) Answer the following questions under each category:
Community position: Think of community position in light of the unique needs that exist in your community, the opportunities to serve and the subtle brokenness that lies just under the surface in the lives of those who live all around you. What events bring the community together and where are they most likely to accept your help and service? Work through the following list of questions to get a better sense of the opportunities to serve those far from God in your town.
- What are the specific challenges and needs in our town?
- How are these needs reflected socially, economically, ethnically, politically, and religiously?
- What area of our community is most broken?
- What specific opportunities are found within a mile of our location?
- What is the most significant change in our community in the last five to ten years and what need does this present?
- What are the largest community events?
- Because of our location, what solution could we provide that no other church does?
- What single change would have the greatest impact in our community?
Collective potential: The collective potential refers to the unique giftedness and demographic of your particular local church. These are the things that make your church feel different from other churches of like faith and practice. The more transparent you are in your response to the following questions, the more helpful this will be to you. Answer these questions in light of the membership and regular attenders of your church, rather than the leadership in your church.
- What would a first-timer say they liked most about your church?
- If our church ceased to exist, what would people in town feel is missing?
- What would other area pastors say is our strength?
- What is the biggest impact we’ve made in town?
- Who currently attends our church (age, ethnicity, education, background, etc.)?
- What spiritual gifts seem to be prominent?
- What is the most significant ministry inside our church?
- If we had to do only one ministry outside our walls, what would it be?
Clear passion: Clear passion is about the lead pastor in your church. There is a reason God has placed you, as a pastor, in that congregation, in that community. There was a reason Paul was sent to the Gentiles and Peter to the Jews. Paul’s unique upbringing, Roman citizenship, and education uniquely positioned him to speak credibly to local politicians and even to Caesar himself.
- Why has God called you, and not anyone else, to be the pastor of this church?
- What one thing bothers you most about the world?
- If you knew you wouldn’t fail, what one thing would you pursue for God?
- What gives you energy?
- What do others say you are good at?
- What have you secretly believed you would be good at if given the chance?
- What three words reflect the best of what you’ve accomplished?
- What do you pray for the most?
- What would you want others to say about your life after you’re gone?
Your clearly articulated vision will be what it looks like for your church family to fully accept their responsibility to serve in the center of these three circles.
After you work through your kingdom concept, a few gaps may emerge. Remember, when Jesus saw the needs of the multitudes, he was moved with compassion and healed them. What if we spent a little more time looking at the needs of the multitude rather than the wants of the disciples? It’s not an either/or, but a both/and. It’s not like we aren’t aware of the disconnection between our churches and the spiritually lost who live around us. We may simply lack a tool to help us figure out how to make the connection.
Your unique vision for the future of your local church will probably best be found at the intersection of where your community already is, who God has pulled into your church community, and how he has uniquely gifted and called you. If this sparks a bit of excitement in your heart and you want to follow through on this, I encourage you to purchase Church Unique and work through it.