Hear it – See it – Catch it – Own it

Every visionary leader wants to engage members of his or her community and invite them to participate in fulfilling the ministry vision God has given.

When a leader is intentional about inviting people to participate in the ministry,  there are four levels at which an individual may engage with that vision.

The “hear it” level

When you first invite people into your vision, they’re hearing about your vision for the very first time. Don’t ask them for money. Just realize that they’ve only just been introduced to the vision. And maybe 10% of them really understood it that first time.

The “see it” level

Once someone has heard what you’re doing, you want to bring them to another level of understanding the vision by inviting them to see it. This is where they get to witness and experience what your ministry is trying to accomplish. When a camp director invites someone who’s “heard it” to visit the camp and see it camp in operation, that’s inviting them to the next level of engagement.

The “catch it” level

Once they begin to see it—to experience it up close—they begin to catch it. When they begin to catch the vision, they ask real questions. Thoughtful questions, not casual questions like “How many people go through your soup kitchen?”

Instead, they really want to know how effective you are. When they begin to catch it, it engages their imagination. It engages their prayer life. They discuss it with who are close to them. When they catch the vision, they really start to think it through. 

The “own it” level

When they catch it, from there, as God would lead them, more and more they become “own-its” in your ministry.

And that’s where you want them to be. That’s real engagement.

At the own-it level, they are asking themselves, “How can I help? How can I share what I have? How can I be a part of this?” Every time they see an opportunity or an event, they ask themselves how they can be involved. 

You’ve heard the old statistic, that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if 80% of the people were doing all of the work—all of the funding, all of the volunteering?

Your ministry could be like that if you had them all engaged at the catch-it and own-it levels. And that's the amazing product of a visionary leader who is intentional about sharing the vision God has given them and inviting others to join them in it.

What level of engagement do you find the most challenging?

The most exciting?

You can learn more at Raise Your Vision Online Forum.

 

About Michael Stickler

Mike is an author, radio host, and a highly sought after motivational speaker. His best-selling book, A Journey to Generosity, is widely acclaimed throughout the Christian community. Mike Stickler is the founder of The Vision Group, LTD. This organization offers ministries and nonprofit foundations a Christian perspective in overcoming the challenges of raising funds.

Over the course of his career, Mike has published over forty books that have made a difference through thousands of churches, nonprofits and foundations as they serve the world.