The mixture of rain and warmer, sunny weather means a new dimension to life these days—yard work. So my son and I tuned up the lawnmower, filled the gas tank, and stood together surveying the grass that is ours until late fall. The familiar sound of the engine hummed in the background of this near-emotional moment when we talk about our strategy, a conversation only the two of us can appreciate. Unfortunately, we were rudely interrupted.

The cough coming out of the lawnmower made us turn on our heels and rush to its aid. "What's wrong with it?" my son asked. Years of home landscaping experience helped me know the problem. "The gas we used has been in the can since October," I said. "When gas sits for a long time, it loses the ability to burn like it should."

The same is true for a ministry's vision. Experience has shown that a vision that's cast to recruit volunteers or launch a ministry season will diminish over time in its ability to fuel people. The message our team heard last fall ...