"Writing Out Your Vision and Strategy" Video Transcript

Video Transcript: Writing Out Your Vision and Strategy

All right. In these next few videos, we're going to be looking at vision and strategy. As you're thinking about music, a lot of times people just go on autopilot. They just do music like we did it last week, or we've been in a church for years and the church just does what it does. But once in a while, it's good to stop and think what, what are we really trying to do with our music program? What, what Who are we as a church? That's what a vision and the strategy is. 

One question is, where do visions come from? And hopefully, visions come from God. You know, I talked about the vision that I had when I went to Florida and God spoke to me and he said, I am here. And then over the next few weeks, God revealed to me his vision for my life. That, that his concern was my his walk my walk with God that he wanted me to walk with Him personally and with my marriage and my family and then help other marriages and families help them walk with God. And if that becomes a church, then so be it. So I that that vision was given to me by God and I have followed that vision for the last 15 years, that has been my vision and people sometimes fight against that. And I, I just put my hands up and say, What can I do? This is what God spoke to me and this is what he said, and that's what I have to do. And it doesn't matter if it works or not, I'm not going based on Well, this works or this doesn't work. I'm just doing what God tells me. So hopefully, God has given you some kind of vision. But a lot of our vision comes from our background and some of you may have denominational background you were raised in a denomination. Denominations have been formed. Largely because of geographic circumstances. people that follow Luther in Germany became Lutherans. And they were called Lutherans even though they moved all around the world but they came originally from Germany. 

Presbyterians came from Scotland, Anglicans came from England. So you can trace some of the roots of all the different denominations to geography and people groups. But certainly there's some doctrinal differences and differences in worship styles as well. And so if you're into denomination, you might just reflect your denomination and its style of worship and how that influences good or bad in your church. Visions come from a pastor's background and experience I'm a very informal kind of person. So I like interacting I like informal worship. Other people are more formal. They like formality, they like things in order. And for them, they gravitate towards a more ordered worship and they like it formal and maybe not that emotional, others are emotional, they love the emotion. Others are afraid of the emotion. So the pastor's background is going to make a difference in the church, she tends to project his or her background on the church. The theology of soteriology how you think someone comes to faith. Of course, we all believe that people come to faith through the Holy Spirit and and what Jesus did on the cross. But God uses certain means to make that happen. And in the reformed world, people tend to rely on education if we educate people teach them about the Bible, teach them about church history, teach them the doctrines. And so, the more that people know, the more God uses that to help bring them to himself. 

So so the service is filled with a lot of educational things, educational type songs that that teach that have really good words and and so maybe the emotion isn't there. In Baptists denominations, it's it's all about leading someone to a commitment. And so the service is sort of designed that way that the songs and the message and everything sort of leads up to that time where someone gives their life to Christ. And so that affects what the worship is like. Pentecostal charismatic churches, they want to see the evidence of the Holy Spirit in terms of certain gifts and, and so the whole service is sort of centered around that and it's enthusiastic type singing and and the worship has that character and influences and maybe you come from that background. Or maybe you're coming from a liturgical style, the Lutheran or Methodist Church and and doing things in order and having a good order is what's important. 

So check your theology of soteriology number five that that the congregational tastes and the background of the congregation, what's the history, they have a history of singing out of this hymnal or that hymnal or they had a supplemental hymnal or they had some loose pages in, in the Pew and they sing off of those, there's certain songs that they sing. If you go to the Appalachian region of the United States, a lot of the holler churches there him those will be filled with songs about the resurrection and about heaven. I mean, almost 90% of the hymnal was about that because their life is hard, and they're looking for something better. So you're Vision can come come out of your background and that's a good place to look. Well what is the vision vision statement? It's a written down version of the general purpose of the church. at my church we're we're called pathway church. And this is our little vision statement, pathway church on the path to a Jesus way, by focusing on God. Walking with him, focusing on each other, supporting each other's walk with God, and finally the world sharing our walk with God with others. 

The truth is, every churches vision statement makes a reference to these three things. There's something about God Of course, you know, we're a church, we want to connect, relate to God. And there's something about his people where the church where his people, so we have to say something about that. And then there are those who are not yet following him something about outreach in evangelism so. Really all churches have these three things. The strategy statement is where churches differ, we all have the same vision. But we don't all have the same vision or strategy of how to make the vision happen in our own place. So what is the strategy strategy statement? The most churches vision statements are quite similar churches strategy on how to fulfill the vision can be quite different. A strategy statement is a written down version of a time and place sensitive outline of a particular way your church is going to implement your church's vision based on your gifts and your experiences, the needs and opportunities of the community. You hope to plant your church and the unique ideas that God through His Spirit has led to put on your heart. Try to answer the key questions in these five categories fit. I think it's good. 

We ultimately want to start thinking About the vision for music, but the vision of music has to fit into the vision of your church. So these are the key things for a vision of the church, discipleship, outreach, education, faith formation, and finally worship. So this just briefly discipleship, some questions to think about how were you disciple? And what effect Do you think that will have on your strategy of discipleship? So if you are raised in the church your whole life, then you know how to do that. But how do you help someone that was not raised in the church? How will your church help people individuals, walk with God every day? Who will disciple the new believers and how will they do it? Is it the pastor's job is the small group leaders job is that the one who brings the new person. Outreach and evangelism? How are you How were you reached and what effect Do you think that will have on your strategy, strategy to reach other people tend to reach people like they were reached. So if you were born in it, then you don't know how to reach anybody because you were born into. If you are reached because of a Billy Graham Crusade, then you're always trying to get people to go to a Billy Graham crusade if you were reached because someone shared the gospel with you personally, then that's what you think works. 

And that's what you'll be motivated to do. And you'll try to get everyone to do. So you really have to take an assessment of how people were reached in your church, in order to sort of figure this one out. Who do you think will be doing most of the outreach, rank in order? Those that you think will do the most each member or the members going to do the outreach? Is that the is the pastor or is it married couples? Is it the programs of the church? Is it the worship service? Is it advertising, what do you think is going to reach the most people? What role will hospitality play in your strategy and where will the prime where will that take place? Will the hospitality In homes, we encourage people, hey, have people over to your home? Will it be stuff and activities that you have at the church? What will the relationship between needs based ministries and evangelism be what you know, one strategy people use to reach people is to do nice things, you know, help people with their lawns, give them money and feed them, give them food? Or is it you know, like teaching your people how to actually share their faith and, and they do that at the workplace? 

You know, what are the relationships between those two? education? How would the church help parents teach their children the faith? How will you give just in time education in the following areas, Bible knowledge, you know, if you have a school based method, you can teach kids at eighth grade level but what happens when a new person joins your church and they're 13 years old, and they didn't have the first five years? How are they gonna make up for that doctrine? How are they gonna learn the doctrine, church history, music, singing the words, evangelism, all these things. And in fact, that's in a way what CLI is about. It's about helping people catch up. You know, if you're born into a church over 10 15 20 years, 30 40 years, you will learn a bunch of stuff. But a new person joins your church that's never gone to church, where would they start, who's gonna teach them all these things? hospitality, education continuing on, what strategy will be your main delivery system for your church edgy education rank in order your preference here, you could use Sunday morning worship service, you know, every sermon is the educational opportunity. 

And the pastor is going to teach everyone everything on Sunday morning. or educational classes, you're gonna have classes and the classes are difficult. You know, you have a class on marriage and it lasted eight weeks, and the Two weeks later, someone comes to your church and their marriage is a disaster. And you say to them, well, Man, I wish you had come a little earlier. We just had a class on marriage. You know, two years, we'll have another one. So education is hard in church, are you going to do it through small groups so that they can each decide what they want to teach and what they want to do? Is it going to be age based groups, you know, Sunday school youth group couples, that kind of thing? Or is it going to be family based? You're gonna have families study something together? Is it going to be one on one discipleship opportunities, more of a mentor program, you get mentored by somebody and they try to teach you what it is that you need to know. So these are all different strategies with education. 

Number four, faith formation. Faith formation is is how we grow on our faith over the over the years. How will you help parents from their child's form their child's faith through baptism, for example, in our church, we try to make a big deal about baptism, we talked to the parents, they have to go to a little class, they have to pick out a verse, they have to, they have to explain why they named their child what they named and relate that somehow to God. So there's this little ceremony that people do and it's sort of like a big deal. Then, how will you help parents give their child their first Bible, we have this thing called first five. And again, parents have to come to a class and they have to learn why this is important. And then they have to go out and get a Bible for their child and they have to find verses in it and get grandma and grandpa to put down their favorite verse and, and then we, you know, that we have the parents present this Bible in a worship service and they have to read, you know, their dedication, their blessing that they put inside this Bible for their child so that their child, this business. 

Getting your first Bible and starting to read your first Bible at a young age is a big deal. We want to emphasize that this is a this is a stepping stone in your faith formation. How will you help parents celebrate their child's coming of age, you know, 12 13 14 kids go through puberty and we want we want to mark that time that light becoming young men and young women and and so we do kind of a bar mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah for the girls, where we where we have the parents invite adults that that know their child, and they have like this time together, you know, they there's food and so on. But they have this time or each of the adults comes up and says what they see in that child, this is what I see any I've been observing you all these years and, and this is what I see and then they give them a little gift that sort of, you know, keys in walk on what they just said to them. 

How will you help celebrate faith formation multiple times in your people's faith development? So, you know, they they they join the church or they get married. All these are just little stepping stones in the faith formation of a person and how is a church? Do you recognize those things and make sure that they happen? Finally we get to the worship. That's what the class is about, how, how do we begin to think of our strategy for for worship? What kind of music? Here's some questions that you have to think about what kind of music will accomplish your vision? Is it contemporary music? Is it the hymns? Is it gospel music? Is it international music? Some churches like to get a little bit of music from from all over the world. Is it spirit filled, more charismatic kind of worship? Is it Scripture songs in our church you know I met we write scripture songs so what what kind of what what stream of music we're gonna have a whole session on this particular top ranking order who your music is for so night Okay, you do this music and your worship service but who is your target? Is it God? I mean, certainly we give our praise to God is your music uplifting and given to God? believers? 

What about your music is for them? Seekers, people that are coming to your church, they're not yet believers. You know, that's difficult is sing these songs and sometimes the songs can be very well in some songs or maybe they're just not even appropriate. If someone once said to me, if you can substitute your wife's name for God and a song and it becomes a love song, then maybe Maybe it's not appropriate in church, but you have, you have a seeker, he's a guy, he's a construction worker, he comes to church, and all of a sudden, you're, you're, you're singing this song about, you know, Jesus holding you in his arms and, and lifting you up like a child. I mean, you know, in a in, you know, you know, when you're feeling vulnerable and you sing a song like that, I can see where you feel that way. But this is a new person, and they're like, okay, who's God? I don't know if I want anybody holding me. Or words like, you know, Jesus is the Lamb of God. Okay, why? 

Why is why was Jesus number one. I've heard of God and what's a lamb got to do with any of it? So, you know, how much of your music is for the new person coming in? Do you say anything to them? Like, we're gonna sing a bunch of songs. And some of them you're not going to understand at all. You know, just listen, whatever, but you have to think about that. Children how much you know, you have kids, their five year olds 10 year olds, do the songs relate to them or any of them? songs that they can enjoy. If teens that the songs fit them. You got the older generation, what what kind of music fits these different groups that you have coming to your church? New to your church, they don't know all the songs that you know. And so what do they do? Old dear church, they have some old songs and then the new people don't know the old songs, you know? So it's it you have to start asking these questions and what are we going to try to do as a church?

Where will Where will your music be offered? Is your worship just for the worship service Sunday service? Or is it for educational classes, we sing our education things we sing in our small groups. We sing in our youth groups, we sing in our homes. We sing in our car and in the goal of our music program is to help people worship God and sing songs everywhere or not, or is it just Sunday morning? So So what is your program trying to do? Work? All these different places. Okay, who will lead your music? that's a that's a question you have to figure out. It's part of your strategy. It's a free for all. That's one way to go. It's like whoever wants to be on the worship team can't it's a volunteer system you like to sing? Okay? come on board. It's not about it's not about whether your talent or not, it's about participation. And I've heard people say that, look, the more people we get participating, the better for the church. 

That's one strategy. Another is an elite group, but these are the best of the best, and we only have that group and they sound good and they practice and they're really talented. And that's our strategy. The other is what I'm going to be promoting and We're gonna be looking at the next two sessions. But a farm team farm team is where you're trying to find a level for music for people to engage in music at a level that fits them. So there's, there's people that are really good and they have a place to play. There are people that are just beginning they have a place to play. And there are people that are learning and so you have a you have a spot a level, it's like sports. When you play soccer, you start off with the little kids and then you advance to this and then there's the the city team and then there's the school team. And then there's, you know, all these different, you know, clubs and what have you that you can play at, and they're all based on a certain level, whatever level you're at, and you go as far as your talents and your gifts an experience will take you what, what do you want to accomplish with the music program? What are your goals and what do you what are you trying to make happen as the music director, you're trying to make something happen? 

What is it. To inspire people to sing enthusiastically, maybe, you know, so that's your goal. Ultimately, when you evaluate your music program, or other people saying, you know, maybe our singer is really talented or our drum is great, and our guitar player is awesome, or, but no one's singing. So what's your goal? to just have great music? Or to have people sing? Or is it to teach people how to sing? You know, we're not just going to have our worship service. We're going to actually teach people how to sing parts. And our plan is to inspire people to worship, not just here at church, but everywhere they're like, to teach people to sing parts, okay? To get families singing in their homes, in their car or on vacation, to communicate the truth, God's word in a powerful emotional and memorable format. To inspire and teach members how to play Use an instrument that means that a goal or not, where it's like, No, we don't have time for that. To reach people through music evangelistically do we want do we see a purpose for music? And how are we going to do that? 

How are we going to use music as a way to reach new people in our community? What kinds of music do your members listen to? This might be part of how you figure out your vision. Do they listen to just the Sunday services to listen to country music on the radio, Christian old music or Christian knew that they listened to classical. They listened to rock and roll. They listen to R&B they listen to the blues, folk music, hip hop, you know, you know, make an assessment of what kinds of music do our people listen to all week? What music does each day Group listen to that's another way of attacking it. There's kids, what music are the kids into these days? The youth the young marrieds what music? Are they listening to the middle aged? The retired people you know, what does each group listening to it and how does that relate to the music that we use? Remember music is just a language and, and you learn the language that you're exposed to. I mean, I grew up learning English, I didn't work at it. 

I didn't decide I think I learned like English it just was around me and that's what I learned. And that's what music is like to you just pick up what's around you. So you had different people, different age groups and so on. What what kind of music of it what language of music have they learned and and how does that relate to your church music. What will be the style of your worship will be formal or informal will be participatory. Or is sort of a professional thing people come and they basically listen to the professionals do it i mean that for many centuries that's what church music was. The people came to the church, but it was the the choir and so on that did all the singing. Who after God, will the service be focused on? is this? Is this worship time mainly to help believers worship? Or is it mainly for seekers? Or is it for teens, families, children, intellectuals, the art type people, the charismatic people? The average person, the new person, it's like, okay, we have these songs. Who's it for? What purpose will this service serve is that, you know, primarily we're trying to educate, we're going to choose songs and educate we're choosing songs that inspire our songs that enable people to lift their hands up or create a sense of community or a sense of hospitality. 

Is it is it music that reinforces practices in your home, so that, you know we have assignments where we sing songs at home and then we sing them in church and then we go back home and work on it. We did that for a while with learning the parents. We had people practice a part. And then we divide on Sunday we divided they actually divided the church into the soprano sit over here. The elders sit over here, the tenor sit over there, the bass and sit over there. And then we just did it. We did the worship service. And that's how we sort of reinforce what they were trying to learn. Here's some mentor questions. If you have a mentor. These are the questions that you need to go over with your mentor to try to figure out your music, vision and strategy. What is the purpose of your music program? That's really a question you have to get at. What do you want to accomplish with your music program? Who do you want to try to reach How does your music strategy fit in with the general strategy of your church? I mean, if your general strategy is we really want to build up the body of Christ, then how does your music do that? If your general strategy is how do we reach people, we need work, we're going to double our church, we're going to plant two churches out of our church. 

Okay, but how does your music fit in? How's that music help in accomplishing that? Who can help you make this strategy around it? So you're their worship leader, but who can help you figure this out? Instead of you just sitting down and trying to figure out this whole strategy? Who can you talk to your team, your pastor? This is a kind of thing that you do together or even other churches that you admire. Try to find out from other people, what kinds of things that you can do. I've had you read the book, little book that I wrote the secret to a great music ministry and in the beginning chapters there, there's a story of a girl that's trying to find a church She visits three different churches. And I hope you hope you read that. And remember that the first kind of church he visits is this church that is older and everyone that's going was born into it. So they all know the songs. There's nothing new there. And she has no idea how to catch up. And no one knows how to help her catch up because they were all born. 

So there's, there's choices like that. So that's one kind of strategy. Hey, if you weren't born here, just, I don't know, good luck. Just Just do your best and hopefully you catch up. The second kind of church she went to is a contemporary church that's really trying to get seekers and seekers don't know the music, so they don't seem very many songs, and they try to help people feel comfortable. But there isn't much there for the believers. And finally, the third church that she visits is a church that is trying to do all of those things, trying to be friendly, trying to be open, trying to help new people. Look, I know you're new you're not going to know these things, but Here's how we can help you and are trying to actually worship God and have something for the believers. And it's this third kind of style that we're going to be looking at over the next two sessions.