Whenever I write about vision statements, I tend to get some visceral reactions. Some people simply abhor the idea of a church having a vision statement. For them, it’s total compromise with the secular culture. It’s treating the church like a business instead of the body of Christ.
Another group responds with intense enthusiasm. They absolutely love the clarity and energy a vision statement can bring. They can’t imagine a church without one.
I tend to see more positives than negatives with a vision statement. For certain, it can be used for the wrong reasons. But it also can bring focus and clarity to what a church should be doing. It can be a healthy and biblical guide to keep a church on track.
Many church leaders will admit the vision statement they use was adapted from another church. They often wonder if it is lazy and unethical to do so. I don’t think so. Indeed, it is really a common practice for many common-sense reasons. Here are five of them.
- Churches have similar purposes; they, therefore often have similar vision statements. The biblical purposes of a church are consistent: prayer, evangelism, corporate worship, discipleship, fellowship, and ministry in the community and beyond. It only makes sense that those purposes become common language in many church’s vision statements.
- Churches contextualize their vision statements for their specific situations. So, even if vision statements sound similar, their application is different for every congregation. A statement borrowed freely from another church often is very different when it is specifically applied in another context.
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SOURCE: Christian Post, Thom S. Rainer
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