In today's installment of these Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I'll explain why it's a good idea to have a goal that makes you stretch. I'll also propose a wording that turns our motto into a motivating vision statement.

  First, let me review the foundational basics: Our church exists to glorify God. We fulfill this overarching purpose by accomplishing our key objectives: the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. These are grand concepts that all churches should have in common but each individual church will have certain specific goals that reflect its distinctive demographics and unique opportunities.

  I see having such a distant target as exciting, not discouraging. Just as churches should aim high, so should we as individuals. When we set our eyes on Jesus, there's always room to grow. It's a life-long process.

  How far away is your target? Is it to be a millionaire? What if you make it? Don't set your goals so low that you can achieve them and be done with it. I read of a church with this vision statement: To be a church that people who don't go to church would want to attend. Not long after deciding on this as their vision, they realized that they had fulfilled it. It was too easy and didn't produce the results they really wanted. So they drafted a new vision statement that included a commitment to growth.

  If we expand our familiar motto (Reaching, Connecting, Growing) into a vision statement, it might look like this: The Vision of Dayspring Fellowship involves reaching out to people with the love of God, connecting them into authentic relationships, and growing them up to truly follow Jesus.

  Reread those words and you'll see that we have not set our sights low. Reaching out to people with the love of God. Connecting them into authentic relationships. Growing them up to truly follow Jesus.   There is plenty of room for growth. Let's stretch toward this target together.