Bodybuilding: Congregational Wellness Blog
By Chris Wethman, Operational Assistant for Director of Wellness & Coaching
Become a Voice and Vision for Hope
A healthy church has a hopeful and visionary pastor and church leaders.
It is exceedingly difficult for pastors and other church leaders to be voices of hope and vision. On the one hand, they are dealing with critics and the tyranny of the urgent. On the other hand, they are often emotionally and physically drained from the highs and lows of ministry.
Often, church members follow the emotions of the pastor and their church leaders. This can put them in a negative mood themselves. The negativity from church members increases. The pastor and leaders become more drained and down. And the members feed on that negativity. You get the picture.
A healthy church has a hopeful and visionary pastor and church leaders. The question then becomes: How do they get that?
When Vision Leads to Hope
We first turn to scripture and a few biblical texts that speak powerfully to the truth of hope.
- “I put my hope in you, LORD; You will answer, Lord my God.” -Psalm 38:15
- “Therefore, having such a hope, we use great boldness.” – 2 Corinthians 3:12
- “Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” – Hebrews 10:23
Hope in Christ is a major theme of the entirety of scripture. But sometimes congregational leaders do not experientially it’s that hope. Our faith is there, but our feelings have not followed.
Hope Begins and Continues with God
Church leaders pursuing congregational Wellness our agents of change. Here is the simple lesson calling change agents our agents of hope. And hope has its being in the heart of God. There is no true hope apart from God.
Studies have shown leaders who embody hope in their churches have three clearly defined traits:
- They read the Bible daily. It seems so simple and basic, and in a way, it is: read the Bible daily. You can’t have hope if you’re not hearing from the Author of hope every day.
- They choose to communicate hope. Leaders of hope are highly intentional about communicating hope to their congregation. There are always choices in the content and tone of communications. Leaders of hope choose to communicate hope.
- They look for low-hanging fruit. Leaders of hope regularly seek small victories for their church they likewise seek stories of small victories that take place in the lives of their members and ministries of the church.
Hope Must Accompany Vision
Vision is critical to lead change. Too often leaders are told to craft a vision statement and move forward. It isn’t wrong to do this, but there’s more to the story. Shaping a vision without a foundation of hope is not healthy. The hope factor precedes vision.
But vision can be a confusing topic. Definitions of “vision” and “mission” abound. Let’s expand on vision in two ways:
The Guiding Vision: The Discipleship Process
In his book, The Simple Church, Eric Geiger’s research found that churches that had a clear process of discipleship were the healthiest by almost any metrics. He proposed that the vision statement of the church reflect the process of discipleship.
The vision statement is used as a guiding vision that provides clarity to the expectations of members.
The Strategic Vision: A Specific Plan for a Specific Time
Here are some of the unique features of a strategic vision:
- It involves a facet of the church’s ministry, not all of the church’s ministry.
- It has specific outcomes.
- It usually has a specified time frame.
- It is best written as a brief narrative that motivates and encourages.
Here’s an example:
Over the next three years, the members of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church will be involved in at least three ministries a year in the town of Lenolden. Through these ministries, we will demonstrate our love for the community, our service to the community, and our desire to make Lenolden a better place to live. We will involve at least half of our adult members to these expressions of love and ministry.
Holy Trinity members were undoubtedly excited and encouraged about making a difference in their community. They became more receptive to change because they had specific and challenging goals before them. They became more interested in doing ministry rather than focusing on points of conflict.
Discussion Starters:
- What are your favorite verses of hope? Why?
- Why do you see a necessity for the change leader to tie hope to vision?
- Brainstorm three ways a leader of change becomes a leader of hope. Why are each of these so critical?
- Write a possible strategic vision for your church.