Almost every ministry has a vision or goal statement. The ones that help me the most not only captivate and inspire but also make it easy to understand what I can do to see it realized.
If you are struggling to refine your vision statement, here are 5 tests that will certainly help. These are from a blog post by Jared Spool called “Creating Great Design Principles.”
Test #1: Does It Come Directly from Research?
“Everyone on your team should have a ton of examples at their fingertips about how the current design (goal or vision statement) or your competitor’s designs violate each principle.”–Spool
Test #2: Does It Help You Say ‘No’ Most of the Time?
“As a rule of thumb, a great principle should make the team reconsider two-thirds of the designs that came before them.”–Spool
This is by far my favorite of the five. As a leader, I found myself giving 4 “no’s” for every 1 “yes.” If you can get clear on your vision and goals, then you will find yourself saying no all the time in order to say yes to the vision.
Test #3: Does It Distinguish Your Design from Your Competitors’?
“Your team should have an easy time understanding how competitors would want to take different principles than what you’ve adopted.”–Spool
Your ministry is there to accomplish a specific purpose. It has people with unique and sovereignly placed giftings. Those things must lead to a vision that in some way is different from other ministries.
Test #4: Is It Something You Might Reverse in a Future Release?
“Great principles aren’t ever-truisms. They are only useful for right now. By thinking through scenarios of when you’d reverse them later, you help define what it means to follow that principle now.”–Spool
Test #5: Have You Evaluated It for This Project?
“As projects progress, new principles will emerge and old principles will need to go into storage. Over time, the team can track its maturity by tracking the changes in their principles.”–Spool
