Other Methods of Vision Development

In addition to the Amanda Game, the Retreat 1 material invites Vision Teams to share their story of salvation. As they share their stories with others around the table, they include how they came to Christ and some of the key players who had a hand in leading them to faith. 

This exercise can be especially effective in vision development for a couple of reasons:

First, there’s often a connection between how a person came to Christ and his or her passion to see others come to Christ in a similar manner. In some instances, salvation from a particular sinful lifestyle will stir calling and giftings to lead others down the same path of transformation. 

Second, in the course of sharing their stories, Vision Team members who have attended church together for years might discover things about one another that they never knew. The resulting camaraderie and vulnerability create a fertile environment for a sense of shared vision to take root.

Shared vision is a crucial ingredient to the vision’s “stickiness.” If a team member comes to a Vision Team meeting declaring that he or she has discovered the vision in isolation, there’s a problem. The collective sense of what God is calling us to be can happen too fast, so if any vision statement that teams construct in their discussion during Retreat 1 should always be subject to adjustment as the team meets between retreats 1 and 2.

When teams discover the collective sense of what God is calling them to become, their next step is to craft it into a statement. We want them to construct the phrase in a way that motivates them and makes sense to them. Occasionally, teams’ first attempts at articulating a vision statement can rely too heavily on “insider language.” Encourage teams to frame their statement in terms that an unchurched person can hear, understand, and resonate with.

The vision statement should be clearly understood by all who hear it, regardless of their age, maturity, or past church involvement, and it should provide a clear direction for the church’s future.