When we hear the term vision, we tend to think of it from a spiritual perspective. But everyone who has ever achieved greatness in life had a vision of what they wanted to do. According to dictionary.com, vision is “the state of being able to see; the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom”. It all starts with an idea and then the plans and actions follow. With the volume of information on the internet we are now able to see the thought process behind a lot of visionaries. We see space travel happening in real time, increasing in artificial intelligence and an overwhelming burst of new ideas being turned into inventions.
The same thing that we see happening in the world we should even be more equipped to do in the churches. Solomon – one of the wisest men that lived- said, “Without a vision, the people perish…”. Now we see our churches struggling and I wonder if that has anything to do with our lack of vision.
Do you remember Joseph? From he was a young boy he was getting dreams and visions about leadership. Even though his path was rocky, he had these visions of leadership and when the time came, he was able to carry out these visions and preserve a whole nation. He was able to see himself in a position of authority- even as a young boy, so when the opportunity presented itself, he was ready to take the chance.
We might often think that only some people are visionaries or creatives, but we are made in God’s image - the ultimate creator. So, if we are created in his image and likeness then we can also be creators. We have been so complacent in watching the ministries and the churches that we are leading to just float by. We lack vision and our people are perishing. As leaders in the church, we have stop going to God to ask for his direction regarding growing these ministries. We have become comfortable in just maintaining rather than elevating the work of God. All over we have seen the decrease in interest in the churches since the pandemic, but we have also become stagnant with our visions.
This new era will require new ideas and new visions. I believe that as leaders we are called to also be visionaries. Instead of complaining and wondering why the church, our ministries or even our lives are falling apart, we need to start seeking out more visions from God. In this new year, I hope that we can see more visions and follow through with those visions in our churches, in our ministries and in our lives.
Ashea West is a Doctor of Medicine, which she recently completed after studying in Grenada and New York. She is from Manchester, Jamaica and had left her hometown to chase her dreams in the medical field. She is passionate about sharing the gospel, using whatever opportunities she is given. “I do believe in blooming wherever I am transplanted”.