Image: Teresa Robinson/Flickr

Many leaders mistake mission and vison, but they’re not the same. Martin Luther King Jr. had a vision—a dream—to end segregation. His mission involved various methods like marches, speeches, and boycotts to help make that vision a reality. The mission is the work to be done in order to reach the vision. Does your church or ministry have a clear vision of where it’s headed and a mission to see that vision become reality?

I hear many women in ministry sum up their purpose with a simple “I have a heart for the people.” But passion isn’t enough. We need a clear vision for what we want to accomplish, and we need a plan to get there. We like to say our vision as Christians is to see everyone find their way back to God, but the statistics tell a different story. A survey conducted by the Center for Church Effectiveness found that the average evangelical church leads 1.7 people to Jesus a year. That is an astounding number. Aubrey Malphurs, author of Advanced Strategic Planning, describes the North American church as follows: “a ship without a compass, drifting aimlessly on the ocean.” The church may have a clear vision, but we don’t have a clear plan for making it reality.

What’s Your Vision?

Many pastors say the vision for their church is the greatest source of tension. A proper vision inspires and ignites people to action. Is your vision to see the people in your community discipled daily? Is your vision to help the community immigrants learn to read? Maybe your vision is to help single mother’s attend college, or get all the homeless people in your community into housing.

We can’t look at another church or ministry and simply copy their vision. Every leader, community, and ministry is different. Instead, spend time in prayer and planning with God to determine where he’d like to take your church or ministry.

The people in Nehemiah’s day had no vision. Jerusalem lay in ruins. But along came Nehemiah, a motivated, godly leader who had a vision to rebuild the wall. When Nehemiah heard the wall was down with its gates burned with fire, he wept, and mourned for many days (Nehemiah 1:4). Have you spent time mourning how your church or ministry has fallen short? Seek direction from God for the next phase of your ministry. I heard a pastor once say that a ministry with significance can’t be produced in our head. Rather it has to be birthed through prayer. When we spend time in prayer and fasting, seeking God’s will, he will lead us into a clear vision.

What’s Your Mission?

It is not enough to simply believe God will bless our ministry because we love him and have a heart is to serve him. It’s also not enough to believe God will simply bring about the vision he’s given us. We need a plan if we want to see true success. If your vision is to help people in your community become followers of Jesus Christ, your church must have a mission to see this happen.

Aimee Semple McPherson had a vision to preach in a debt-free building. Her mission was to speak worldwide and raise money to build Angelus Temple in Los Angeles. As she traveled the world speaking at tent meetings, every bit of money was sent back to fund the building. On January 1, 1923, Angelus Temple was dedicated and immediately held 5,300 people—the full capacity of the building.

In the 1880’s, Eliza Shirley at age 15 heard the preaching of Hallelujah Lassies, the Salvation Army women who preached the gospel. She had a vision to reach the poorest of the poor that no one else cared about. So she became a Salvation Army worker and lived in impoverished conditions, preaching in poor neighborhoods to save souls.

Like these two women of the past, we must create a mission for our church or ministry to help bring our vision to reality.

Lead the Way

It’s now time to start fresh and rebuild your wall.

• Check your motives. There was a time in my life that while my vision was to reach people for God, my mission was all about promoting myself. I was more concerned with having a glamorous ministry and being known than doing whatever it took to save souls. Be honest with yourself: what are your motives? When our focus isn’t on God, we won’t see much success.
• Develop a Team. You need a group of people you can rely on. Nothing of significance was ever done alone. To make his vision of rebuilding the wall a reality, Nehemiah recruited people to help and assigned them various tasks. Who do you need on your team? Who can help bring clarity to your vision? Pray together and write out your vision.
• Get to Know Your Community. Where is your community currently at, and what do they need? As you get to know both your church community and the surrounding community, you’ll bring clarity to your mission—how you’ll go about bringing your vision to reality.
• Create Your Mission. To help the people in your church or ministry live out the mission, they need to be able to say it succinctly. Malphurs explains that “your mission statement must pass the t-shirt test.” Your mission statement should be clear, succinct, and make an impact. How can you describe your mission in a slogan that would fit on a shirt? Together with your team, create this mission statement.

It’s okay if right now your church or ministry isn’t doing what God has called you to. Today, that can all change. Pray for God to revive your spirit, and open your mind to his vision and mission. When Nehemiah saw the ruins of the wall, he knew it could only be rebuilt with God’s help. What is impossible for man is not impossible for God. Even if your ministry seems impossible to turn around, have hope. Don’t let discouragement get the best of you. God can restore our ministries if we seek him. The Bible tells the stories of many great heroes who sought God and devised a plan for his purposes—Moses, Joshua, and Nehemiah, just to name a few. This is a new year, and you have an opportunity to rebuild, restart, and make a difference in your community.

Saleama A. Ruvalcaba is a wife and mother of five. She is a home educator and a Bible student graduating soon from Evangel University with a degree in Church Ministries.