Vision Statements are Worthless Without a Game Plan

Most of us have been to a pep rally at some time in our lives or a sporting event where we cheer for our team. There is some humor and a lesson that can be learned from our participation as fans at one of these events. The trumpet blows followed by everyone standing and yelling, “Charge!” Then we all sit down to eat our hot dogs, popcorn, and nachos. We aren’t in the game and we do not know the game plan. We are only spectators!

Every team has a particular cheer or song that unites everyone in the stadium. In high school my sons played sports for the Ft. Gibson Tigers so every game we heard “The Eye of the Tiger.” In college football the Razorbacks call the hogs, Oklahoma has Boomer Sooner, and Georgia has “Who Let the Dogs Out!” In churches today we have a “Vision Statement’ that is meant to rally the troops in our churches to carry out God’s Great Commission.

Vision has the ability to excite people, rally them, and urge them to join in the game. Vision statements are worthless without a game plan that will turn followers into spectators. What is you process of discipleship and does everyone in your church know how to get from point A to point B? Vision needs an easy step-by-step reproducible process to ensure progress toward its fulfillment. Every member should know what that process is and be able to explain it to others.

Churches should be good at welcoming people, inviting people, and building relationships with people outside of the church. One problem is that when they are ready to join the team there is no system in place to show them the step-by-step process for greater involvement. Some may say, “That doesn’t sound very spiritual and you don’t need a system!” The truth is that not having a system is a system but not a very good one. Read more