D1: How to have a clear vision for outcomes

Biblical/Practical Intro

So the king asked me, ‘Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.’ I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, ‘May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?’ The king said to me, ‘What is it you want?’ Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, ‘If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favour in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.’ Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, ‘How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?’ It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time. I also said to him, ‘If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?’ And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests. Nehemiah 2:2-8

At a glance

Open and honest conversations about vision calling and expectations between all involved is very important. Reflect on Nehemiah’s approach above. Clarity between him and the King about the vision, the timescale and the resources enabled the project to thrive.
Don’t over plan! God may lead in a different direction…

Key Points

The majority of mission within new housing areas involves partnerships and teamwork. There may be an ecumenical partnership, a denominational partnership, and/or a partnership between an individual or team on the ground and a church/denomination/ecumenical body. Many of these partnerships have funding as a key element; relationships are always more complicated when money is involved!

In order to maintain good relationships within the partnership, it is essential to have a clear understanding of the outcomes and expectations of the new housing engagement. Assumed and unspoken expectations – either from individuals or the partners as a whole – towards what is expected is incredibly unhelpful for both the partners and those on the ground. It can create friction or even destroy the partnership and put a stop to the mission altogether. In her book, Dare to Lead, Brene Brown states that ‘Clear is kind’, being vague for the sake of artificial unity, doesn’t work and isn’t kind. Openness is key. Nehemiah, despite being scared of the king and his reaction, states clearly what he feels called to do and the outcomes. This is a good model.

There are three key expected outcomes that are often voiced by churches, pioneers, teams, partnerships and funding bodies. It is helpful to question and discuss these expectations openly when forming partnerships.

Is the expectation to start a church gathering on the estate as soon as possible? Is there a plan to bring a gathering of people from elsewhere to worship and be church on the estate, and, as that impacts the local community, invite local people to join?
Is the objective to impact the estate to transform the culture of the new housing community in line with kingdom values, and engage in community development?
Do you want to impact the culture of the local new housing area, and see a new culturally relevant community of faith emerging from local people, new to the church and coming to faith, even if this takes time?

All of these aims and expectations have pros and cons [See table of Outcomes and Expectations – Theology, Opportunities and Pitfalls] but the key thing is to ensure that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet.

Sue and Helen both note the importance of the partnership sorting out their aims and vision before calling a lay or ordained person or team to engage on the ground so that they are clear about their remit. [See also How to call someone to serve on the new estate]. Sue was pleased that the ‘storming and forming’ had happened before she arrived!

When Helen arrived as Co-Minister of the church and Community Minister funded by the church and Denominational grants, the parameters and expectations were very clear. There was an expectation that the funding would go beyond a traditional three-year funding package, to at least five years. The church had agreed that there would be no expectations of quick or immediate results, such as financial return or church growth or a new community. The existing Co-Minister, Steve, stated ‘We needed to free ourselves from that and view it as a missionary appointment.’ Using missionary language was helpful in terms of considering what might/might not happen. Helen walked into a church that had already caught the vision and owned it for themselves. They were unified in their call to reach out to the new estate, but there wasn’t a prescribed plan; this was something that Helen would discern as she lived and ministered on the estate.

Learning Points

Unclear is unkind! Being vague about the outcomes and expectations in the interest of unity is not helpful.
It is important that everyone involved in funding or enabling missional engagement on a new estate agrees with the vision, aims and outcomes for the venture. This may be a number of different churches in an ecumenical Churches Together group, or a church where members are giving money to fund the work. The biggest issues seem to arise when one group of people is expecting a new church worship service to start quickly, whereas others are expecting community transformation or friendship building with local unchurched people to take priority.
It is also very important that the people on the ground, whether a lay team or an ordained minister or anyone in between, agree and understand the vision and expectations before accepting funding or relocating. There are big differences between church planting, community activism and incarnational pioneering, even though they may all look very similar at the outset. Failure to be clear about the expected outcomes and how the mission will be evaluated can lead to painful issues and/or a thwarted project.
Be realistic about expectations! There is no silver bullet for lasting individual or community transformation – especially amongst an unchurched community. Targets for numbers of new Christians or church attenders tend to be unhelpful and relies on the Holy Spirit more than any purely human activity (See How to evaluate New Housing Engagement and How to join in with what God is doing ]
Be open to the unexpected! Whatever our human expectations, remember that God may do something that we have neither asked nor imagined.

Engaging With New Housing