Vision: shorter is better

Step three is where most people start. Wise leaders create urgency and get a team first. Then comes the vision. The vision needs to fit on a business card. You need an “elevator speech.” This is something you can communicate in the time it takes for an elevator to travel from one floor to the next. It needs to be memorable. It needs to be repeatable. Everyone in your church should be able to say it without thinking. At Willow Creek it is, “to turn irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Christ.” At North Point it is, “to become a church unchurched people want to attend.”

There is an interesting thing about these two vision statements. I didn’t have to look them up. I have heard Bill Hybels and Andy Stanley preach enough that I can state their churches’ vision from memory. Question: if I attended your church for a year would I be able to quote your church’s vision without thinking about it? Question two: If I were to ask ten people who attend your church what the vision is for your church, how many could tell me without hesitation?