from vision to programs...

These thoughts are from Alexander Venter's, Doing Church; Building From the Bottom Up. There is nothing magic here, they only serve to help define terms that are often mixed and provide a stepwise method for building "from the bottom up".

Six Step Process

Define Purpose – defines who we are and where we are going (or who we want to be). This gives identity and direction. There is the purpose of the Church in a more general sense, which is theologically informed, and then there is the more specific purpose of a local Church – the particular calling that God has for each local Church. The general purpose forms and informs the particular local purpose, which has to do with leadership and context and other factors. This purpose is expressed in terms of a mission or vision statement.

Clarify Values – potentially unseen, out of view and not consciously thought of but absolutely crucial to the superstructure which is seen by people. Values determine what you think and what you do. They answer the question “why”? This defines what one gives time, energy and money to. They give criteria and principles by which judgments are made. Everything is evaluated against these, your preferences and choices. They determine what is non-negotiable and important as opposed to what is urgent and flexible. Values guide and inform your decision-making. They can be both Biblically, historically, and contextually determined. They determine what we do, i.e., our priorities and they affect the way we do things, i.e., our style or practices. They are not absolute. And there should not be so many that there is no core or “center of gravity”.

Establish Priorities – built directly upon values otherwise they are a nonstarter. Priorities answer the question “what”? They describe what we actually do. These are what are primary and important. They give us our goals and plans. They channel our energy and effort.

Model Practices – these hang off the priorities. They answer the question “how”? That is, how we do what we do. They give us skills and disciplines. They have to do with our style and methods, our way of doing things. They tend to be oriented toward individuals yet they have a corporate effect.

Choose personnel – this makes it all alive, workable, functional, and efficient. This is the “whom”. Those that fulfill the purpose, are bonded together by the values, guided and supported by the priorities and sustained by the practices. These are the workers and the leaders.

Implement programs – this structures the activities. This is what is ultimately seen. For them to be successful, they must be part of the overall vision and purpose and embody and express the basic values. They must uphold and help achieve the priorities, and they must be done through the common practices of the personnel. The programs are the “through what”. They give structure and cohesion.

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