Vision is the blazing campfire around which the people of God gather. It provides light, energy, warmth, and unity. It helps us see through God's eyes, to perceive his purposes and possibilities. It strengthens us with the conviction that "all things are possible through Christ."

"Without a vision, the people perish," warns the writer of Proverbs. But with too broad a vision, the people flounder.

Our church, for instance, has this statement of purpose: "To draw all men into a redeeming spiritual experience, restoring them to God through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and instructing them to observe all the teachings of Jesus Christ, as set forth in the Holy Bible."

Certainly a comprehensive vision! But not anything our eighty-member congregation can ever accomplish. Such vision is essential, but without manageable goals and a strategy for reaching them, a church can be overwhelmed and paralyzed.

Case in point: Two summers ...