John C. Maxwell Vision Quotations

Good leaders must communicate vision clearly, creatively, and continually. However, the vision doesn't come alive until the leader models it.

Failed plans should not be interpreted as a failed vision. Visions don't change, they are only refined. Plans rarely stay the same, and are scrapped or adjusted as needed. Be stubborn about the vision, but flexible with your plan.

A lack of realism in the vision today costs credibility tomorrow.

Positional leaders ignore the fact that every person has hopes, dreams, desires, and goals of his own. And leaders must bring their vision and the aspirations of the people they lead together in a way that benefits everyone.

Vision without passion is a picture without possibilities.

By the time I went to the pulpit, the vision was never on the same level as when God first gave it to me; it was clearer and bigger. It was better because the body of Christ complemented what God had given me. So when I gave the vision to the congregation, the influencers already bought it. Then after the people have heard my message, and migrate to the influencers, these influencers are already my allies and help me communicate the vision to the congregation.

When pastors ask me if their people will buy this vision, I ask them two questions: "Have they bought into your leadership?" If they haven't, don't ever try to pass on a vision. Second, "Have you processed this vision correctly?"

All visions begin with relationships. My relationship with God is where I receive the vision; my relationship with my people is where I give the vision. If those relationships aren't what they could be or should be, on either side, the receiving or the giving out, the vision is going to be aborted.

As a pastor I reinforced my vision over lunches.

There are a lot of pastors who have a vision and have not yet seen it become a reality.

When I had something I thought God was talking to me about, the first thing I did, before I ever talked to the congregation, was to sit down with the major influencers of the church and share with them what I thought God was speaking to me. I gave them time for input or questions. Many times they would ask questions and I would reply, "I need to spend more time on this. I'm not sure I'm thinking clearly there." Other times they added value and helped make this vision better or more accessible to the people.

Most pastors have a hard time grasping a vision. But vision is the indispensable quality of a leader.

When the pastor and his or her church have a vision, they will put their energy, time, money, and personnel into achieving it.

Without a vision our community will perish without Christ, but without a vision the church will perish as well.

In my leadership conferences, pastors ask, "Do you have a vision for my church?" Many times they want me to give them a picture of where they should go and what their church should look like. When these pastors do this, I always feel bad.

Hope is not strategy. Hope fits with vision, but we must have a strategy and a process to make our vision become a reality.

Many pastors fail to see God's vision fulfilled because they never have a strategy for fulfilling that vision.

Great visions are cast one on one.

If churches would take ownership of a vision, the next pastor who is thinking about coming to that church can see what their vision is and then determine if their vision fits with his or her ministry. If it doesn't, then it would be wrong for that pastor to come to that church.

You must find a way to get your vision seen, implemented, and contributed to by others.

People are not going to give you a vision, but God can.

God gives us the vision, then He expects us to walk in obedience. As we do, the resources we need come to us.

Vision is a picture of a desired future; a picture of something that I don't possess right now, but it is something I want to see and experience, and something I want the people I am leading to experience.

Without a vision people in leadership positions perish. You not only lose your people, you lose the person who is in a leadership position - you lose it all.

Vision is something pastors and churches cannot afford to live without.

Churches whose members fight with one another have lost their vision for the lost.

Find your vision, and let it guide you in all that you do. If you lack vision, look inside yourself. Draw on your natural gifts and desires.

Without a vision people and the church become self-centered. People start finding fault with one another and the church self-destructs.

Not everybody who has a vision is a leader, but every leader has a vision.

At the beginning, all we have is the vision. At that point God expects us to begin walking in obedience according to the dream He has given us.

When somebody tells you he or she is leading something, a fair question is, "What is your vision?"

Don’t tell them what you’re going to do - that’s vision. Do what you are going to do – that’s culture.

If your vision doesn't cost you something, it's a daydream.

Discontent with the status quo is a great catalyst for vision.

The success of a vision is determined by its ownership by both the leader and the people.

Your teammates will stretch your vision or choke your dream.