Much goes into finding the right vision for your church’s ministry, as our series of blog posts on this topic has demonstrated. While there’s a lot to consider, we want to encourage you to make sure to think big.
We’ve been helping church leaders envision new or remodeled church building projects for fifty years now. Over those decades, we’ve come to see that it’s especially important for church leaders to start the vision process with broad thinking that leads to a master plan.
Develop a Grand Vision
The best way to dream big is to consider the following. What would you do if you knew you could not fail? How would you like to proceed if money wasn’t an obstacle, or even a concern? How do you really want to give glory to God through your church building and the ministries it supports? By dreaming big at the beginning, your vision for ministry will not be limited by human concerns, but instead driven by God’s plan.
Consider What’s Possible Now
While God gives us the vision, he does not always give us all the money to make it happen right away. Once you’ve outlined your grand vision, it is time to consider what is affordable at this stage on the journey. This doesn’t mean that you let go of the dream, but that you get it all down in a master plan, and then break that plan down into affordable pieces. At this point, money, budgets, resources, time, and land will all come into play. You’ll need to choose the right priorities in terms of what comes first.
For example, while the need for a Christian school may be an important part of your church’s vision, it is also important to have adequate worship space. Are both of these facility needs achievable in a first phase multi use project? Or is this something that has to be built with separate uses from the very beginning? This is where a master plan helps with communicating the entire vision, so that families with young children will be happy in your church building and see hope in the future development of the facilities for ministry.
Focus on the Right Steps Toward Your Dream Church Building
The master plan lays out the phases, and steps within those phases. However, if you choose a step that will cost more than you can afford, it could become a stumbling block to the broader vision. You might find that your church ends up focused more on funding concerns than on ministry. If that happens, the entire process can end up losing steam and excitement.
Instead, be careful to choose steps that are sized to be affordable and big enough to make a difference. By investing in your vision for ministry in steps and phases, you can accomplish your dream over the course of time. As we outlined in a recent post, one church took 30 years to fulfill its master plan, but they got there, step by step.
So, don’t be afraid to dream big. That’s how we started building churches half a century ago, and that’s how you can build your vision for ministry in your community. To learn more about the many ways we can support your master plan and church building process, check out our free i3 webinars.