Three Personality Traits You Need for Clear Communication

Many local churches function as if the primary communicator is also the single vision caster. It’s true that the senior pastor is the lead vision caster, but that only paints a part of the picture.

It is also an insufficient way to view how a good vision is shaped, sustained and continually communicated to more and more people.

You’ve heard the phrase, “vision leaks.” It’s true. And, because it’s true, the vision of your church must be said over and over again, including one to one, small group huddles and meetings, and from the main stage.

Before I list the three traits, here’s a perspective of communicating the vision in your church.

There are three roles in leading and communicating the vision:

  • Vision Creators
  • Vision Castors
  • Vision Carriers

The vision creators typically consist of a small group of senior staff leaders (or volunteer leaders in a smaller church) along with the church board, who follow the senior pastor’s lead and prompts from God. Together, they seek clarity, alignment and begin to secure buy-in from the rest of the leaders.

The vision castors are a slightly larger group who stand on a stage of various sizes and communicate the vision in a public way. This would include, for example, groups like Campus Pastors, Student Pastors, Worship Leaders, etc.

The vision carriers are a massive group and often underutilized. In fact, nearly anyone in your church can be a vision carrier – and often are, depending on their level of enthusiasm, buy-in, and participation.

Or, another way to say it is, the further it will be carried.

A vision is carried relationally to far more people than any one vision castor can take it, regardless of how gifted a primary communicator is.

After an inspiring talk from the senior pastor; people will sit in homes, coffee shops and where they work saying something like, “So, what did you think about what Pastor said?”

That’s when the vision carriers kick into gear.

3 Traits of Your Best Vision Carriers:

1) They speak up positively

The people who love your church speak enthusiastically and positively to far more people than the pastor or church staff will ever reach. They answer questions and encourage others to join in their enthusiasm. The help put out fires and help others understand the vision.

2) They contribute generously

Vision attracts the resources needed to advance the mission. The people who have bought in at a heart-level contribute financially, and often at a generous level. They have either personally experienced life-change because of your church, or they see life-change in your church, and their spiritual maturity allows them to make Kingdom investments.

3) They serve joyfully

The opportunities to serve as part of a local church are nearly endless. The number of ministry options within the church should be limited, but the opportunities to carry the love of Christ into the community are endless. Your best vision carriers serve with joy, and their enthusiasm is contagious!

3 Quick tips on strengthening your army of vision carriers:

Make it clear
Make sure your vision is simple to understand, fresh, and captivating. If it can’t be said in a minute, it’s too complicated.

Invest
Always endeavor to want more for your people than from them. Your people are not tools to grow the church; they are the church. Grow your people, and they will reach more people.

Give them tools
From brief training sessions to window clings, give your people tools to help them communicate. Most importantly, give them a reason to tell others.

___

Here’s how to know it’s working:

Vision carriers invite people!

You can measure how well you’re doing by the number of guests and the retention rate of those guests.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dan Reiland

Dan Reiland

Dr. Dan Reiland serves as Executive Pastor at 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He previously partnered with John Maxwell for 20 years, first as Executive Pastor at Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, then as Vice President of Leadership and Church Development at INJOY. He and Dr. Maxwell still enjoy partnering on a number of church related projects together. Dan is best known as a leader with a pastor's heart, but is often described as one of the nations most innovative church thinkers. His passion is developing leaders for the local church so that the Great Commission is advanced.

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— 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.
 
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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.
 
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