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As a senior pastor, it’s important to have a vision of how to lead the church for the coming new year. Having a vision for the church based on God’s Word, and what God is putting on the church’s heart for the year, will allow the congregation to thrive in relationship with Christ.
Coming up with a vision for the new year can be hard.
Whether it’s writing down goals in anticipation of New Years Eve, or sitting at home with a blank vision board on New Years Day, many of us use the promise of the new year for setting resolutions.
These resolutions are typically meant for bettering us in some way, laying a foundation for progress in our own lives.
As a senior pastor, it’s important to have a vision of how to lead the church for the coming new year. Having a vision for the church based on God’s Word, and what God is putting on the church’s heart for the year, will allow the congregation to thrive in relationship with Christ.
In today’s blog, we will be going over why it’s important for pastors to have a vision for the new year and five-steps to help develop that vision.
“Vision” is a word often associated with our careers, businesses, or the direction of our life. However, what do we mean when we’re talking about having a vision in relation to these things?
According to pastor Andy Stanley, “vision is a mental picture of what could be fueled by some passion of what should be.”
In an article for creativity and innovation brand Conscious, author Tony Logan adds that “Vision gives direction and a glimpse over our life to make our goals and purpose become a reality.”
Logan further emphasizes that “It’s so important to have vision and purpose because; it actually controls and makes our decisions, which ultimately creates our lifestyle.”
In answering why it’s important for churches to have a vision, Pastor Hal Seed of New Song Community Church and online contributor of Pastor Mentor, explains that:
“A pastor without vision feels the lack of direction and privately questions his ability to lead. And a lack of vision from the pastor opens a leadership void that others will be happy to rush into, creating a cacophony of vision which ultimately leads to division and dissension. A pastor leading the charge on a church-wide vision builds confidence and brings momentum, fruit, and growth.”
To put it simply, having a vision is a solid foundation for leading and guiding the rest of the church. If the pastor isn’t quite sure what the vision is, it can be easy for the church’s goals to become muddled. If the goals of the church are unclear, the church’s leaders may all have different ideas of what’s best for the church.
However, having a clear vision allows for the church to strive for a clear purpose and ultimately bear more fruit for the Kingdom.
It’s important to note that a “vision” isn’t the same as a “mission.” The mission should be what your church stands for in terms of values and the impact it aims to make.
Pastor Hal Seed asserts that “Your mission should be closely tied to the Great Commission: making disciples, baptizing, and teaching.”
On the other hand, a church’s vision is a set of long-term goals for how to bring that mission to life. Having a yearly vision is a sustainable way of making sure the mission is being fulfilled.
Now, understanding the purpose of having a vision is the easy part. The hard part? Actually defining what that vision is.
Not to worry, I’ve put together a five-step guide on how to develop a vision for the new year:
As I mentioned, the church’s mission statement is the church’s set of values and the impact the church intends to make. This mission should align with God’s word.
The first step of developing a vision for the new year should be to look over the church’s mission. Before looking forward to the new year, the church leaders should review the past year and reflect on what ways God moved, what ways prayers were answered, and how the church’s actions aligned with its mission.
This next step is essential.
Building a vision on good intentions, self-satisfaction, or a lack of faith, can be a shaky foundation for leadership. It’s important that a vision for the church ultimately comes from God’s guidance: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Set aside time to pray, meditate on God’s Word, and listen to what God may be wanting for the church to study, act on, and live out for the coming year.
During this time of seeking God, pastors can go a step further by fasting or taking a silent retreat:
According to Heather Riggleman of Bible Study Tools, on fasting:
“A Fast is about humbling our hearts before God. Fasting and praying are about giving up the thing you seek for satisfaction in order to draw near to God… allowing God to satisfy you.”
Laurie Acker of SmallChurch Ministry speaks on silent retreats, telling us:
“For Christians, silence and solitude are spiritual disciplines. (...) Spiritual disciplines are a grace given to us to soak in God’s goodness, to experience Him in our daily lives, to learn from our Creator, and to soak in His delight.”
When developing a vision for the new year, pastors should consider what’s going on in the current state of the world. What issues may be going on worldwide, nationwide, locally, culturally, and socially, and how those things may be affecting the congregation and their personal lives.
For example: a) considering what the Bible tells us about silence & solitude in a culture of noise and instant gratification, or b) how the church can stay unified during a political election year.
After reflecting on the past year, seeking guidance from God, considering current events, and remembering the church’s mission, the senior pastor should start to see their vision for the church entering the new year.
This vision can be one of growing the church, planting new churches, or revelation that God is trying to reveal to the congregation and how to live that out –– such as having stronger faith, worrying less, how to live a joyful life in the face of adversity, or becoming a community of worship.
Once knowing what this vision for the church is, a pastor must be able to communicate the vision to the congregation. This is made possible by aligning the sermon series and church events/activities throughout the year with the pastor’s vision.
While it may be challenging preparing sermons week-to-week, it can be more challenging planning ahead for sermon series, and writing sermons that serve the vision of the church.
Thankfully there are sermon preparation tools that can help make this process easier. With these tools, pastors can generate effective sermon outlines, quick search verses and Bible stories, create character studies, and come up with modern day examples of Biblical stories.
The last step is to be open to whatever God decides to change during the new year.
While it’s important to have a vision for the church and how it aligns with the church’s mission, it’s essential to continue seeking and listening to God as you navigate the new year.
Perhaps during the year, you feel God is speaking to you to change direction on a sermon series or a planned church event. As long as the church, its mission, and the pastor’s vision for the church are congruent with God’s word –– pastors must have faith when feeling called to realign their plans.
With the coming new year, it’s important for pastor’s to spend time seeking God –– seeking what God’s called the Church to do, and for pastors to have a vision of how their church can honor this calling.
Having a vision for the new year is an important way for pastors to lead with purpose, fulfilling the mission for God’s church.
