Four Questions To Clarify Your Church's Vision

A church without vision is a lot like a car without a steering wheel. It can look, sound and even smell good, but you'd never invest in it.

If you want to go anywhere, you've got to have a good vision. And if you want to accomplish anything, you need one that comes directly from the imaginative mind of God. But what do you do if your vision isn't clear?

Today I sat in my office with Paul Alexander from The Unstuck Group. They're a group that helps churches discover more of their own potential through consulting and coaching, and Paul is an absolute pro.

During our conversation, he asked me four pointed questions. They're designed to help pin point the important growth areas within any organization. I've heard these questions before, and I love thinking through them. So I thought I'd share them with you.

As your church works through the muddy waters of developing and implementing church strategy, you can use these questions to help you navigate conversations. I've gone through these with the staff at my church before, and they're a great way to zero in on the areas that need your focus. 

1. What's working? What are the things that you're doing really well, and that you should keep doing?

2. What's broken? What's not working that you should stop doing, get rid of or leave behind?

3. What's missing? Where are your blind spots, and what do you need to do to get rid of them?

4. What's confusing? What things are causing people frustration because they don't make good sense?

As with most of life, the most important thing you need as you ask and answer these questions is your own rigorous honesty. If you're mercilessly honest in answering these four questions, you'll begin to see some of the things in your church that are bogging down the vision casting process. As you begin to target those things, you'll find that these questions can become a catalyst to building the God honoring vision you've been praying for.