Compelling Vision

In my more than 30 years of full-time ministry I found myself at various times asking two extremely important questions. The first one is, "What is the vision that is driving the ministry forward?"  The second is a follow-up, "Is this vision compelling enough for me to go all out for?"  Unless we can articulate the answer to these two questions I am afraid that those of us leading ministries can easily slip into something that settles for less than God's best for what He has called us to do.  This is essential to me right now as I am at a point in my life where the clock is ticking and the years I have left to invest my life in ministry are far less than they were when I started.  I want to make my life count the most for the Kingdom of God as I serve Him and His church.

Over the course of the past year our ReachGlobal Africa Division LeadTeam has been prayerfully crafting a vision statement that captures what we believe the Lord is asking us to commit our lives to in ministry in Africa. After a good bit of prayer and discussion God led us to commit ourselves to this vision:

• To see the Gospel transform lives, communities, and institutions across Africa by the power of God’s Spirit

This vision was born from the conviction that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only hope for the continent of Africa!  Unless we move to disciple people toward obedience and not simply knowledge as well as toward genuine transformation and not simply the accumulation of more information we will not see the impact of the Gospel in changing individuals, families, communities, and even entire nations.  I believe with all my heart that God's deepest desire is to see Gospel transformation radically impact Africa!  

Would you join me in praying that God would do this to His glory in Africa!  I believe as He does it in Africa it will ripple out to the rest of the world.