Leading With Vision
Helen Keller once said, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight, but no vision.” I agree. When I have a clear vision of where God is leading me, I face every day energized and fueled by a clear sense of direction and purpose. When I can’t see where God’s leading me, I’m easily discouraged and distracted. Helen’s words remind me of how Eugene Peterson paraphrased Proverbs 29:18 saying, “If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves.” Can you relate? Are you filled with vision for the future or are you stumbling along wondering what’s next for you and your church?
At Passion for Planting we believe the number one competency of every church planter is the ability to hear God’s voice (Brett Andrews shares why we believe that in this short video). If you want to pursue Godly vision, you need to spend undistracted time seeking His direction. Godly visions arise from time spent in prayer and scripture listening for the voice of the Good Shepherd.
In John 10:27 Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” Have you been listening for His voice recently? Has He been guiding your steps and giving you vision for where He’s leading you and your church?
At Passion for Planting, we want to help you hear God’s voice and follow his leading. That’s why we create strategy templates. These templates aren’t filled with answers, but with questions for you to wrestle with in times of prayer and Bible study. Our hope is that by using our strategy templates, you’re better equipped to discern God’s vision for your church and empowered to make disciples and start new churches.
That’s why we’ve filled this month’s newsletter with resources to help you listen to God’s voice and to help you dream about what God’s got in store for your church’s future. Enjoy!
-Patrick Bradley, Director of Operations
July 2023 – Content
- Reproducing Leaders
- P4P YouTube Channel
- Church Planting Residency
- Meaningful Connections
Reproducing Leaders
If you have a God-sized vision, you won’t be able to accomplish it alone. You’ll need to develop leaders to work alongside you, investing their gifts and passions into the vision. So what will you do not only to develop leaders in your new church, but to also develop a culture of leadership reproduction within the church?
To help you answer that question we’ve developed a Leadership Multiplication Strategy Template. Download our template and work through the questions, asking God to lead you along the way. Ask Him to speak to you and help you answer the questions so your church can produce more workers for the harvest.
P4P YouTube Channel
Where did you turn when you needed to fix that broken faucet or car headlight? If you’re like us, you turned to YouTube. While YouTube may have started out as a place to discover funny videos and sports highlights, it’s become a learning center. That’s why we’ve created a YouTube channel designed to help you lead more effectively.
While knowing how to fix a leaky faucet or replace a spark plug is helpful, the challenges you face as a church planter are much more consequential and oftentimes more complicated. Whether you have questions about filing legal paperwork, building a launch team, hiring staff members, or developing a church plant budget, you can find answers to many of the questions you’re wrestling with on our YouTube channel.
Check out the P4P channel today! It will encourage, equip, and inspire you to make disciples and start healthy reproducing churches. If you like what you see, hit the subscribe button so you can get all the latest content.
Church Planting Residency
Do you know someone who has a vision for starting a new church? We connect with church planters on a regular basis that have this vision, but lack the knowledge, experience, and training necessary to turn that vision into reality. That’s why we developed a Distance Church Planter Residency program.
Our program equips you to start healthy reproducing churches in your local context. No need to uproot and move to a new city to participate in our training. Our program offers you practical training on how to make disciples and organize them into a spiritual family on mission for Christ. To learn more about how our cohort can equip you or another leader you know to plant a healthy, reproducing church, visit our residency webpage. We’re now accepting application for our 2023-20224 cohort which starts in September. Start your application today!
Meaningful Relationships
Do you have a vision for how people within your church will build meaningful relationships with other believers? The solution most churches offer to meet this need are small groups. Small groups are great, but don’t assume that all small groups are the same.
There are many different small group strategies out there, but don’t copy and replicate the small group strategy of another church without first seeking God’s vision for how small groups will work at yours. We’ve designed our Groups Strategy Template to help you discern the vision God’s giving you for small groups at your church.
Download your free copy today and start dreaming about how your church will help more people grow spiritually, develop relationally, and produce more disciples of Jesus.