Step Out of the Whirlwind

Paul Nickerson
Mar 3
2 min read

How Vision and Discernment Can Revitalize Your Church

In the book, The 4 Disciplines of Execution, the three authors talk about the “whirlwind”. This term is used to describe all the energy it takes to keep an organization going. This is certainly true for churches. Isn’t it amazing how quickly Sunday follows Sunday, and by the time committees meet, the building is maintained, and pastoral needs met, all the time and energy of the Pastor and leaders is devoured. It is all too easy to stay in the whirlwind and just maintain day after day, week after week, and year after year, and in most cases, this leads to decline, which is happening in 85% of churches today.

One of the healthiest things a church can do is to take a step back and engage in a vision/discernment process. Will Mancini, in his book, Future Church, describes this process as “shared imagination”, not just shared preferences. Stepping out of the whirlwind and imaging where and how God might be calling a church is critical to avoid the drift toward decline.

Here are some of the parts of a vision/discernment journey.

Engaging the entire congregation in scripture and prayer.
Doing a deep dive into the dynamics of the community around the church, including demographics, interviewing leaders, and conducting focus groups.
Coming to a congregational consensus on a one-sentence Purpose Statement, which describes why we exist as a church.
Developing a shared narrative about the most important things God is calling the church to do in the next few years. As Stephen Covey called them, the “Big Rocks” the church should spend their time developing.
Then to create a strategic plan to live out that vision narrative, with specific goals and benchmarks to keep the church on track toward the vision.

When a church invests in a future plan, it draws all its members toward some common goals; it stewards the precious resources of a church for the Kingdom, and it energizes a congregation with an exciting vision of the future.

Is it time for your church to step out of the whirlwind, to take a deep breath, and listen to where God is calling?

If you would like more details on how to lead a vision/discernment process in your church, reach out to Paul Nickerson at Nickersonp@comcast.net or visit Nickersoncoaching.com.

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