Investing in Small Church Futures
By John Koessler
July 1, 1994
Several years ago, I purchased ten shares of IBM stock at $116 per share. It seemed like a great opportunity. We were in the middle of a bull market, and the price of the stock had fallen from an all-time high of $175.
Over the next few years, however, I watched in dismay as the price of my shares inched lower and lower. Soon their value had been cut by more than half. So when I heard that Louis V. Gerstner, the former chief of RJR Nabisco, had become CEO of Big Blue, I was keenly interested in his vision for the company.
Imagine my surprise when Gerstner stated, "The last thing that IBM needs right now is a vision."
When asked to explain, he said, "A vision is often what somebody turns to when it gets hard doing what's required, namely, good, solid blocking and tackling. Remember, the Wizard of Oz was a vision."
As pastor of a congregation of 75, I have sometimes wondered if the last thing my church needs is vision. The blocking and tackling alone are overwhelming.
But as we have worked to formulate a long-range vision, I have learned much about vision in the small church, both the difficulties and the benefits.
In the small church, talk of church vision may seem as out of place as Robert's Rules of Order at the family dinner table. There are several reasons for this.
* Limited Resources.
One week before we completed the grueling process of formulating a vision for Valley Chapel for the year 2000, the church's Sunday school superintendent and financial secretary resigned. The superintendent was relocating to another community, and the financial secretary had begun a new job, making it impossible for her to continue. Since the Sunday school superintendent also taught the eighth-grade class, now we also needed a new teacher.
Suddenly ...
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