Vision Statement Tips

Person making a checklist in a notebook

Vision statements need to be useful to the leaders. Effective vision statements tend to have these characteristics:

  • The vision is faithful to the congregation’s best understanding of its religious heritage.
  • The vision statement is oriented to the future, providing a statement of the congregation’s desired future.
  • The vision is appropriate to the specific congregation, bearing in mind its history, culture, size, resources, location, and capacities, as well as what its members care deeply about.
  • The vision statement is realistic in terms of the congregation’s social context.
  • The vision statement contains both judgment and promise, by articulating the different future it wishes to create.
  • The vision is a shared image of the desired future, growing out of the stated wishes and desires of the membership.
  • The vision statement is specific enough to provide direction for the congregation’s life, but broad enough to include multiple but complementary visions important to groups within the congregation.