George Barna in his book The Power of Vision defined three common elements in a God-sized vision.
They enter the vision-development process uncertain of what they are seeking to do but persuaded they must do something to provide greater clarity for their future.
The process extracts a significant cost from vision seekers. "Devotion to the process of discovering the vision is perhaps the most important component in all of the activities associated with God's vision. . . . He doesn't need our efforts as much as He desires to know us and desires for us to know Him deeply, sincerely and joyfully.
Those who persevere and arrive at an understanding of God's vision and then devote themselves to implementing it experience outcomes they never could have foreseen without God's vision as the heartbeat of their ministry. (p. 13)
First, I still remember beginning in the summer of 2002 how God began to place something in my heart while living in South Asia for the Latin American movement. I argued with Him that since I was North American why would He call my wife and me to begin a ministry aimed at promoting the Latin movement in North America? The sense of God's direction was strong enough for us to leave a 15 year career with a mission agency to launch this ministry.
Second, it has been amazing to see how over the past six years God has blessed the development of the vision in a more specific nature. God has blessed in several ways and with some preliminary results, but the greatest personal lessons learned have related to as Barna said knowing God and being known by Him. He doesn't need us but has allowed us the privilege of being a part of something that He is doing. He is trustworthy when it comes to strategy, relationships, funding and results. When something is God-sized, those involved know that any result is dependent on the operation of His grace way beyond our abilities and talents.
Third, through the grace of God, and the prayers and financial support of many, we have been encouraged and able to persevere in these early years. There has been a lot of hard work, hundred of hours of preparation. In the next six months as we launch a missionary training program and implement a new connecting partnership process, we are confident that the outcomes in the next 10 years would never have been foreseen without God's vision.
Therefore, we give honor to the God who created this vision, and to those been so vital to the development in these years: our Board of Directors, the donors who have financially made this vision possible, and those who have prayed fervently and faithfully for a long time.
We expect that God will complete the vision because the vision has been His.
