Church vision statements are like diet and exercise. Everybody knows its good for you but relatively few muster up the discipline to stick with it for long. How many well-crafted vision statements end up gathering dust in a neglected file jacket? How many failed because they weren’t properly communicated and executed?

It turns out that the problem isn’t confined to church vision statements. Impaired vision is a widespread affliction in business and industry, too.

Impaired vision on the job

I was surprised to learn that business and industry struggle with impaired vision. Business columnist Jessica Lawrence cites research which indicates that “95% of employees do not know what their company’s strategy is at any given time.”

Think about the implications of that statistic for a moment. If only 5% of a company’s human assets know how their activities fit into the company’s goal, when it comes time to make decisions or take action how can the other 95% know whether their decisions and actions are actually useful to the organization’s goals and objectives?

An intentional interim pastor should pose the same question to the church’s leadership: “If ministry leaders don’t understand how the program they lead fits into your church’s goals and objectives, how can they make good decisions?”

Cause of impaired vision on the job

It is widely assumed that impaired vision among the workforce is essentially a communications problem. CEOs, Division VPs and (in the church) Pastors have failed an important communications task: to inform everyone else about organizational vision. Thus, the various nostrums (none of which will be effective without significant transformation) include departmental meetings, newsletters, company intranet, emails, powerpoint presentations and so forth.

Nilofer Merchant’s new book11 Rules for Creating Value in the Social Era points out the fallacy in this conclusion. Lawrence summarizes the essence of the problem.

The problem is that employees are not engaged in developing the strategy in the first place. Strategy development is usually something that is done in a corner office or a closed conference room, and the employees who are being impacted by the strategy and are going to be expected to deliver results based on it are nowhere to be found.

While company executives and clergy in the church do need to continually pound away at the vision, that will not by itself solve the problem. When those who do the work that drives the organization toward its goals (thereby fulfilling its mission and vision) are involved in the process, they have understanding, ownership. It seems that many a fine articles about vision fall short of offering help when it comes to selling and implementing the vision.

Remedy for impaired vision

One of the most powerful remedies for impaired vision on the job or in the ministry is to ask questions and then listen.

In their book First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently authors Buckingham and Coffman propose a dozen questions that measure the core elements an organization that attracts and keeps the most talented people (Reference Link).

1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?
2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?
3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for good work?
5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?
6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?
8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important?
9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
10. Do I have a best friend at work?
11. In the last six months, have I talked with someone about my progress?
12. At work, have I had opportunities to learn and grow?

Interim pastors can use these twelve diagnostic questions to good effect by equipping those who supervise ministry team leaders with these questions and a schedule to work through them on a regular basis.

• If members of the Church Board have oversight of the various ministry Departments (e.g., Men’s Ministry, Youth, etc.), teach the Board members how to use these questions with those they supervise. Then, set a schedule and let the Board members know that you’ll be checking back with them at such-and-such a date to gather the ministry leaders’ responses. [Rinse and Repeat]
• If members of the paid staff have oversight of the various ministry Departments, implement the process with them.
• If you are interim pastor at a small, pastor-focused church, you will need to meet with the various ministry leaders yourself and work through these.
• Keep a calendar
• Send reminders
• Ask for reports (preferably verbal)

Finally, here’s how I would modify those 12 questions for use in a ministry setting. This is how I would ask the questions as a coach collaborating with one of the ministry Department leaders:

1. Are you clear about what the church needs from you in this position?
2. Have we provided you with the material and equipment you need to do your best in this ministry?
3. Does this ministry use your spiritual gifts, experience and strengths to greatest effect?
4. When is the last time you recall being praised for your work by the pastor, staff or church leaders?
5. Are we doing a good job of letting you know we love you and care about you as a person?
6. Who on staff, in leadership or in other ministry here encourages your continued development?
7. When high-level decisions are being discussed, do you feel like your opinion matters?
8. Does this church’s mission and vision help you recognize how important your ministry is?
9. Are those who work with you in volunteer positions committed to quality work?
10. Do you have a close friend in your ministry group or here at the church?
11. In the last six months have any of us in leadership spoken with you about your progress as a servant leader?
12. What has the church done to offer you new opportunities to grow?

Closing Question

How do you, in your role as a pastor or an intentional interim pastor, involve others in formulating and owning the church vision statement?

Image credit: <a href=’https://www.123rf.com/photo_14665075_business-vision.html’>burakowski / 123RF Stock Photo</a>