VISION

Key Takeaways

• The sources of vision. Vision is important because it keeps us living. People need to be inspired and have a reason to wake up every day. Vision comes from “the four S’s”:
  
  • Scripture: What is God telling us from His Word?
  
  • Situation: When people aren’t happy with the status quo, they want to make a change and see a better future.
  
  • Sample: When you watch someone succeed, you learn from them and are inspired by them.
  
  • Success: When people see results, they get excited and are driven to pursue a bigger vision.
• Owning the vision. To affect positive change in a community, people need to see you as someone who will journey with them, not someone who will dictate to them. You’ll need to go to the people, live with them, learn from them, start with what they know, and build on what they have. Here are three more letters to consider in your intercultural relationship projects: P, O, C:
  
  • P = Participation. Participation brings ownership.
  
  • O = Ownership brings commitment.
  
  • C = Commitment. You cannot get the commitment of the people in a community if they do not own the plan or the vision, and they can only own the vision if they have participated in crafting that vision.
• Know when to get out of the way. Your role in development is to help the people, and then get out of the way. Let them move forward while you move on to help another community
• Trusting local leaders. Look for people with experience, expertise, focus, the ability to listen, and excitement about the vision
• Youths need inspiration to have a vision for a better future, and this is where Child Champions come in. Kids need the three M’s:
  
  • Models
  • Mentors
  • Motivators