Why a Vision Sunday?

I am often asked about what we do on our Vision Sundays, and I thought it might be helpful to do a series of postings on the subject. I will first outline the thinking/ content that I believe makes a good vision talk, and then in later posts give a number of examples from the last 5 years of such talks at King’s; I hope this might give you some ideas for your own future Vision talks.


We always have a Vision Sunday at the beginning of Sept (but this could be October if you are a student church) and again early in January. These fit well into the natural flow of church life - post summer, new term, and of course in the New Year, people are already readjusting their lives post summer holidays or after Christmas. It is an important occasion to re-engage them with the church’s vision.


I normally start a vision talk with a personal story from my holiday break – usually something humorous! I think it is important for people to connect with the visionary as well as the vision - people tend to ‘buy into’ a person first and a vision second. I remind the church why we have a Vision Sunday twice a year,

• firstly and primarily, to give thanks to God for His faithfulness over the last few months and years,
• secondly, to keep us focussed on what God has called us to do, and
• thirdly, to inform those who are new, helping them to understand our journey to this point.

Beyond hearing our story we hope it will help them to join us or to step in further. Don’t forget that the best vision talk looks back and celebrates what has been achieved as much as it looks forward to all that lies ahead.