I believe I’ve found a biblical example for writing vision statements – in one verse:
And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.
(Habakkuk 2:2, 3 ESV)
Obviously this is a specific vision of God’s revelation and I am not pretending yours (or mine) will be. Yet, I think there might be an application here that may serve as a sort of biblical example helpful in writing vision statements today.
Keep it simple.
Make it timeless.
“Make it plain” – easy to read; not overly cumbersome. People need to be able to understand what you are trying to accomplish quickly, without a lot of additional information.
“Write it on tablets.” The idea here is that it was going to stick around for a while; permanently inscribed on tablets of stone. Vision statements should be for more than a season. They are more for eras of time. You’ll be looking at them long enough to have them posted around your building.
Does that sound like your vision statement? Is is simple? Will it last the tests of time?
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