Vision

"Vision Leaks"

Andy Stanley, a well-known Pastor and author has made this statement famous.  You may see this as meaning your vision can leak onto those around you.  Which can be true at some level.  But what Stanley speaks about is that vision leaks out or seeps out and is lost.  Vision does not stick permanently and therefore must be cast consistently and compellingly.  

But why? Here is one of his answers:

"You know what else is tough on vision? Life. Every single day of my life works against the vision. Vision is about what could be and should be; life is about 

right-this-minute. Life is about the kids and the laundry and the doctor and the house payment.  No wonder vision leaks. Monday comes along and rips it off the wall. The urgent and legitimate needs of today can cause us to lose our vision."

As leader and therefore vision carrier of our Children's Ministry I want to remind you that what you do is extremely important with eternal impact.  I truly believe we have one of the best teams and love seeing the immense difference in the children in our community.  You are faithful, gifted and just all around incredible!  But it is all too easy to lose some of that fire and begin to simply run through the motions.  You must not only let your vision leak but be intentional about growing it.  Not only must we continually keep God's plan before us, we have to be able to passionately communicate to others. 

It is natural for most people to talk about what excites them.  Whether that be your latest decorating project, a favorite new restaurant, an addicting new TV show or getting the steal of century on your new outfit- women talk.  We love to talk about what is going on in our lives.  I am a self-proclaimed bargain shopper.  As a momma on a budget and someone who just enjoys getting a good deal, I love finding steals.  Upon getting complimented on an outfit I often share my delight in the deal I got hoping to encourage women that you don't always have to shop extravagantly.  I mean what is better than sporting a great Calvin Klein dress you picked up at Goodwill for just a few bucks?!?!

I digress.  My point is our passion will come out.  How often does your passion for Children's ministry come out?  In Chapter 6, Sue Miller engages us in her process of growth in this area as she learned to "get wild" about recruiting.  She understands and explains that is must first start with us- the passion, vision and excitement.  If we have this, we should not waiver in faith nor confidence in recruiting others.  We are not asking too much of them and they are not doing us a favor.  We are asking them to join with us to create a ministry of life transformation and better yet it is little lives with little hearts and huge potential!  I am not sure there are too many things more exciting than that.