3 powerful catalysts to guide your church toward its vision

I have a passion for leading mission experiences. Not only do I want to share the love of Jesus with the world, but I also love to help those on mission to experience God in new ways. When I was installed as pastor of a small-town church, I was given a globe to commemorate the special event. It was chosen for me because it symbolized my love of global missions and ministry. 

Now, the globe serves as a reminder of the leadership axiom Future-Focused Church shines a light on: People support what they help create. 

People support what they help create

For my small congregation with limited resources, an international mission experience seemed out of reach. Though members had previously traveled a few hours away for a week-long mission trip, many felt that getting on a plane together and serving people in a different country would take too much time, energy, and financial resources to make happen. 

Until an opportunity came along. 

My leadership team and I wondered together whether people in the church would be adventurous enough to consider traveling beyond the borders of the U.S. to partner with an ongoing ministry in Peru. Word began to spread, momentum grew among the youth and adults of all ages, and the church decided to partner with the ministry in Peru and send a team the following year. The church leaders directed a portion of the church’s missions budget towards the trip, including the proceeds of the annual missions golf tournament. In addition, the youth and adults came up with ideas on how they could raise money to offset the expenses, one of which was a community silent auction. Everyone came together to make it financially possible for anyone who wanted to go. All at once, an “out of reach” vision was coming to life.

3 powerful catalysts to guide your church toward its vision

Leading your church forward doesn’t have to leave your congregation feeling disconnected from their past, disengaged from their present, or disillusioned about the future. Rather, in the Fuller Youth Institute’s training and consulting with over 1,000 churches worldwide over the past decade, we’ve found that congregations are transformed when leaders and members of all generations seek God’s direction together.

Out of our learnings from ministry leaders and congregations, our team wrote Future-Focused Church—a book that offers churches tested principles and practices that are proven to help lead effective change. In the book, we find that remembering people support what they help create is particularly effective because it helps leaders give attention to three important catalysts.

Catalyst #1: People

To lead people well, future-focused leaders have to earn and extend trust. For me, trust was earned at this church not with flashy programs but with ordinary actions over an extended period of time as I led the congregation to serve the local community. If I had suggested that we go to Peru before consistently serving in our own community, the congregation would not have trusted me or the idea. If we’d not had a positive experience serving a few hours away, the idea of going outside of the U.S. would not have been accepted. It was by being faithful locally and regionally that the idea of global mission could become a possibility. 

Catalyst #2: Support

Future-focused leaders are willing to share keys of leadership with others. My church’s mission team was made up of teenagers and adults across generations. As with any mission experience, there was a lot to pull together. We needed to raise money. We needed to learn about Peruvian culture and the ministry we’d be partnering with. We needed to plan Bible stories, crafts, and games. We needed to become more comfortable listening to other people’s stories and sharing our own. 

Preparation for the trip was more work than one person could (or should) handle, so we practiced keychain leadership. Both young people and adults took different aspects of leadership to carry out. As the pastor, I intentionally avoided taking control of everything. Instead, I made sure everyone had a clear vision of what needed to be done and where we needed to get to. 

Some members of the mission team took on the task of planning and carrying out a silent auction to help raise money. Others tackled the challenge of leading Bible studies and preparing for the crafts. Still others took on the leadership of leading evening devotionals or creating drama skits. Everyone had a significant role, and that created more buy-in from the team. 

Catalyst #3: What they help create

One of the true joys of leadership is inviting people to help create so they can experience God’s goodness. As I reflect on my mission team’s experience in Peru, I remember God working in and through the young people and adults. I remember both young and old teaching Bible stories, leading crafts, and playing games with children. I remember an occupational therapist finding incredible joy working with children who had physical limitations and teaching caregivers skills that could be used after we left. I witnessed a retired dentist take teenagers to help provide dental care in a remote village. I saw relationships formed and memories made among the team members. These relationships still exist today. 

When I was given the gift of a globe, I could never have imagined what would happen just a few years after that installation service. As I look at the globe now, memories of that trip flood my mind, and I am filled with thanksgiving for all God did in and through us. And I’m reminded of the beauty of collaborative leadership, where trust, support, and shared creation propel a community towards new horizons of impact and transformation. 

Lead your church toward a bright future

I wish I could tell you that I started with a grand plan and implemented it without hiccups—but that wouldn’t be the truth. I mostly stumbled my way into learning that people support what they help to create. It was only by God’s grace that everything fell into place. But you can be more strategic!

Where are you finding momentum in your ministry? 

In what ways are you seeing people support what they help to create? 

If you are facing barriers while trying to lead change in your context, how would involving more people in the future-focused change help lessen resistance? 

You are a future-focused leader who is helping to change the culture of your church or organization. You and your leaders have a vision of where you would like to go, and you are equipped for the journey. Keep going! We at the Fuller Youth Institute are cheering you on.

A step-by-step roadmap for leading your church through change

We believe the best days of the church are ahead. Church leaders can better navigate change by constructing a map that helps them navigate here (where they are now), there (where God is leading), who (their partners for the journey), and how (the path to navigate into the future). Future-Focused Church helps you craft a plan that will take your church from where it is now to where it longs to be.