From A to Z: How Vision Clarity Can Focus Architectural Initiatives at Your Church

Your church will never spend more money, invest more time or ask for a higher degree of involvement from its leadership that it will during a season of relocation or expansion. My personal experiences in both the profession of architecture and positions of ministry have, through time, revealed that success in undertaking a major construction project ultimately comes down to a clear understanding of identity and calling.

Discernment and vision-driven direction become critical in every decision during a church building project or facility renovation. Even a seemingly small initiative like Children’s Ministry theming carries great potential for impact when done in context of vision. Understanding your mandate to make disciples through the lens of vision clarity becomes an informative tool in every project to help ensure that the physical environment is a compelling reflection of your missional call.

Most importantly, focusing architectural initiatives through vision clarity also reminds us that buildings are a TOOL for vision, but NOT THE VISION in themselves.

In Architectural Initiatives, a deep sense of vision clarity:

  • Anchors Activity
  • Buttresses Basics
  • Contextualizes Creativity
  • Directs Design
  • Enables Engagement
  • Frames Facades
  • Guides Green
  • Highlights Hazards
  • Infers Importance
  • Justifies Juxtaposition
  • Keeps Keystones
  • Leverages Loans
  • Maximizes Moments
  • Names Non-Issues
  • Optimizes Opportunity
  • Prioritizes Phasing
  • Quickens Questions
  • Right-sizes Resourcing
  • Supports Strategy
  • Tames Three-Dimensions
  • Undergirds Uniqueness
  • Visualizes Vision
  • Widens Windows
  • X-Rays Xenodochium
  • Yields Yards
  • Zeros-In Zoning

So some of those were a stretch, but you get the point. The excitement of a new season of building, planning or design is a great opportunity to get back to the basics as a church. One opportunity would be to start a conversation with your team on how vision clarity, as seen through a tool like the Vision Frame, can create compelling environments in your next church building project.

Ask: How might a renewed sense of purpose and identity help our next construction project…

    … Echo Missional Meaning?

    … Reveal Core Convictions?

    … Facilitate Intentional Growth?

    … Celebrate Missional Success?

    … Direct Vision Advancement?

Read more from Bryan.


If you are entering into a season of construction, learn how vision clarity can influence upcoming key decisions related to facilities or building.

Download PDF

Tags: , , , ,

| What is MyVisionRoom? > | Back to Vision >

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bryan Rose

Bryan Rose

As Lead Navigator for Auxano, Bryan Rose has a strong bias toward merging strategy and creativity within the vision of the local church and has had a diversity of experience in just about every ministry discipline over the last 12 years. With his experience as a multi-site strategist and campus pastor at a 3500 member multi-campus church in the Houston Metro area, Bryan has a passion to see “launch clarity” define the unique Great Commission call of developing church plants and campus, while at the same time serving established churches as they seek to clarify their individual ministry calling. Bryan has demonstrated achievement as a strategic thinker with a unique ability to infuse creativity into the visioning process while bringing a group of people to a deep sense of personal ownership and passion.

See more articles by >

COMMENTS

What say you? Leave a comment!

Recent Comments
comment_post_ID); ?> Thank you for this information. I'm going to use this article to improve my work with the Lord.
 
— Abel Singbeh
 
comment_post_ID); ?> Thank you Ed for sharing your insights into the Church Growth Movement. I have my reservations with Church Growth models because it has done more damage than good in the Body of Christ. Over the years, western churches are more focused on results, formulas and processes with little or no emphasis on membership and church discipline. Pastors and vocational leaders are burnt out because they're overworked. I do believe that the Church Growth model is a catalyst to two destructive groups: The New Apostolic Reformation and the Emerging Church. Both groups overlap and have a very loose definition. They're both focus on contemporary worship, expansion of church brand (franchising), and mobilizing volunteering members as 'leaders' to grow their ministry. Little focus on biblical study, apologetics and genuine missional work with no agenda besides preaching of the gospel.
 
— Dave
 
comment_post_ID); ?> Thank you for sharing such a good article. It is a great lesson I learned from this article. I am one of the leaders in Emmanuel united church of Ethiopia (A denomination with more-than 780 local churches through out the country). I am preparing a presentation on succession planning for local church leaders. It will help me for preparation If you send me more resources and recommend me books to read on the topic. I hope we may collaborate in advancing leadership capacity of our church. God Bless You and Your Ministry.
 
— Argaw Alemu
 

Clarity Process

Three effective ways to start moving toward clarity right now.