In the crazy times we live in, how do we make smart ministry decisions? What drives these choices? What defines your budget? What camp do you attend? What mission trips do you plan? All are tough decisions to make even when we aren’t living in a global pandemic! When we add in the ‘Rona, it makes decisions even harder.
Ultimately all these answers must come from the vision that God has given us for ministry that He has entrusted us to lead. It is the responsibility of the leader to define reality and cast the vision for ministry that God has given you. Vision creates momentum. Vision brings clarity. Vision brings your team together for a common purpose to focus on.
Many of us get so tied down into the mundane, routine, daily tasks that we must perform that we miss out on God’s plans for ministry. We must create time in our schedules to see what God has for us. Proverbs 29:18a says “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained…” Will Mancini, in his book God Dreams: 12 Vision Templates for Finding and Focusing Your Church’s Future, says “that we are to lead with a vivid picture of your church’s future and that a lack of a clearly defined vision will cut your church’s effectiveness in half.” This is scary. Nobody wants to be less effective.
What is your God-sized dream for student ministry? Can you write it down on paper? Have you shared the vision for ministry in a clear and concise manner? If your vision is just in your head and you can’t articulate it, then the vision isn’t clear yet. Keep seeking what God has for the ministry you lead. What is your vision for the next year of ministry? What is your vision for the next 3-5 years of ministry? How does the vision of your student ministry align with the vision of the church? These are all questions that we must answer. It is the answer to these questions that teach us how to answer the budget, camp, missions and other tough questions that we encounter.
We get the privilege of leading God’s church in unprecedented days! Will we lead well with a clear, crisp vision? What’s the vision God has given you for ministry in your context?
