“Our pastor returned from his vision retreat a changed man. What happened to Him on that retreat began to spill over onto us (Reaching the Summit team) and pretty soon to the entire congregation.” What could possibly impact a man and his church setting so greatly today? Simple, it was a retreat, a vision retreat.
Most pastors do not take vision retreats. There are several reasons given for not taking such retreats. Many pastors believe they are too busy to go away for 2-3 days. Some are under the self-imposed impression that the ministry cannot stand on its own while he is away. Still others have family commitments preventing them from such a retreat.
While there may be some truth to each of these reasons, the validity is not strong enough to keep any pastor from having a couple of days alone with God. In fact, these could be the most productive 2-3 days of a pastor’s ministry, and for the church as well.
I believe the number one factor for pastors not having a vision retreat is fear. Think about this: a pastor knows if he comes to the church with a vision, he is expected to stand before them with this big grandiose picture of what God wants the church to be in 1, 3, or 5 years.
This is wrong thinking, bad theology, and poor leadership. While God could certainly present a vision like this, in most cases He will not. In these instances, this is a dream or a wish, not a vision. We should see a vision as “The Compelling Image of an Achievable Future.”
Before a pastor goes on his vision retreat there is one important element needed. Prayer! The pastor must spend some time (weeks) in prayer preparing himself for God’s speaking and his comprehension to take place during the retreat. The church should also be advised weekly on how to pray leading up to the pastor’s retreat. Church leadership should demonstrate, in the worship service and distribute devotions and prayer thoughts for the congregation to follow leading up to and while the pastor is away on his vision retreat.
The pastor’s vision retreat should be to a place where the pastor can have his privacy. This should be 2-3 days of the pastor alone – by himself – with only his Bible and a few sheets of paper for notes. God – the Bible – and the Pastor. Be sure to remove all distractions – no e-mail, text, or cell phone communication (except maybe one call per day to family). The first couple of hours is to be spent in prayer asking God to clear the clutter of the mind. Some pastors have testified that this has taken up to four hours, but the results were well worth it.
Next I instruct the pastor to study 5-7 men and women in the Bible who received vision from God. Read and re-read the biblical passages. Then answer four questions about each person studied. Download these questions @ Biblical Personality Vision Assessment . Read through each scripture passage again, review your answers to the questions on each sheet. Then, write in the comments section what God is showing you about your ministry through this biblical passage. Repeat this for each passage studied.
Before leaving the retreat, one more step is necessary. Pray through the comments section of each sheet asking God to reveal to you the common thread as it pertains to your church setting and ministry.
More pastors walk away from this retreat with a renewed spiritual walk and commitment, stating this was one of the best spiritual experiences of their life. Some have said this was their first retreat, but certainly not their last. Others have said they have tried something like this before, but never with such impact on their lives and the lives of their church.
The key is to set yourself up for a true personal experience with God. Remove everything that could hinder this experience. Then Expect something from God. Do not expect to come away with some great and grandiose picture of what the church should look like. Instead, look for the simplicity of God speaking through His Word.
When the pastor returns from his retreat there should be another one-day retreat already on the calendar. This retreat is for the pastor to share (in 45-60 minutes) with 7-12 church leaders what God revealed on his vision retreat. The remainder of this one-day retreat (5-6 hours) is for the leaders working together to articulate how that vision is to be carried out through the ministries of the church.
For more information about creating and implementing vision contact George L. Yates and read chapter 10 of Reaching the Summit. “The best chapter on vision I’ve ever read.”