The Church of Pentecost U.S.A., Inc
Atlanta District – Officers’ Retreat
September 24, 2011
Theme: “ T he Visionary Leader ”
Speaker: Pastor John O. Ofori
Introduction
"The vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future" Ezekiel 12:27
“ If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed”. Proverbs 29:18 (MSG)
"There is no more powerful engine driving an organization towards excellence and long range success than an attractive, worthwhile and achievable vision of the future " Burt Nanus
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It has been said that the greatest gift ever given to mankind by God apart from the gift of life is the gift of vision – the capacity to see and imagine.
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Nothing noble or noteworthy on earth ever done without vision. No invention, development, or great feat was ever accomplished without the inspiring power of vision.
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Vision is the key to unlocking the gates of what was and what is, to propelling us into the land of what could be, and has yet to be. It is vision that makes the unseen visible and the unknown possible.
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Vision is the energy of progress. Civilizations were born and developed through the driving power of visionary leaders.
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For instance it was vision that inspired the first biblical civilization established by the great hunter, Nimrod (Gen. 10:8-10).
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Vision inspired the Greeks to produce philosophy and art that still impact the thinking of our world today.
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Similarly, it has been observed that, successful individuals, achievers, shakers, movers and makers of history were or are people with vision.
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It was the vision of light that possessed Thomas Edison to invent the light bulb. It was the vision of a desk-sized computer that motivated Stephen Jobs to invent the desk top computer. It was the vision of giving every person access to user-friendly software that inspired Bill Gates to develop and invent the global Microsoft Empire.
What Is Vision?
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Vision has variety of definitions, it includes a mental image or picture, a future orientation, and aspects of direction or goal. Note the law of double creation: mental creation and physical creation (Gen. 1:26; 2:7).

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Vision is a mental picture of the future for which people are willing to work on
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Biblically speaking - vision is seeing the future before it comes into being (Ezekiel 12: 27;
Revelation 1:1).
 It is seeing from God’s perspective (Prob. 29:18)
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Vision is seeing beyond what the natural eyes can see (2 Kings 6:16-17)
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Vision is a conception that is inspired by God in the heart of a human (Eph. 1:17)
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Vision could be synonymous to a dream or a revelation that is yet to be fulfilled (Dan 7:1)
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It is a goal or a purpose God wants us to achieve in a near future.
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It is a need to fulfill or a solution to a problem.
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Sight is the function of the eyes but vision is a function of the heart/mind (Eph. 1:18)
Who Then Is A Visionary Leader?
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A visionary leader is somebody who could see beyond what everybody else was looking at.
For example a visionary leader sees problems or challenges as an opportunity to find solutions and to excel.
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Visionary leaders have foresight, hindsight and insight into the future.
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Leaders with vision are people who are not satisfied with what is happening but are interested in what is going to happen and how they can make it happen.
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They are skillful, creative, disciplined, innovative, self motivated and inspired.
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Visionary leaders dream dreams. They translate their dreams into realty, and lead their organization, churches or movement into growth, expansion and excellence.
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They envision possibilities regardless of the situation or the magnitude of the problem.
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They push the boundry of possibilities with the help of God
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Throughout history the greatest leaders and shakers of the world like Martin Luther King
Jr., Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Queen Yaa Asantewaah, Dr.Kwame
Nkrumah and Nelson Mandela were visionaries.
Biblical Visionary Leaders
The bible offers a rich example of visionary leaders who championed the work of the Lord in their generations.
* Moses was constrained by a vision to deliver the people of Israel and lead them to the Promised Land.
* Joshua was motivated by a vision to possess that Land.
* David was driven by a vision to settle God's people.
* Nehemiah was possessed by a vision to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
* Jesus had vision a clear vision while on earth ie `to testify about the truth' and never deviated from it.
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The Apostle Paul unprecedented ministry and missionary work was driven by the vision he had on the Damascus road.
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Apostle James Mckeown and his wife were constrained by a vision to go down to the then Gold Coast and established the COP.
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In every case, the vision was given to the individual who was ultimately responsible for seeing it through, and the individual transferred it to a group.
Why Do We Need To Have A Vision as Leaders?
The need for us to have God given visions as leaders, elders, deacons, deaconess, movement leaders, parents, workers and business owners cannot be over emphasized.
* Without vision, people perish (Prob. 29:18).
* Without vision organizations and churches make no progress and stagnate.
* Without vision organizations and churches go down or die out.
* Without vision movements and group cease to function.
* Without vision the task of leading becomes drudgery (tiresome).
* Without vision leaders become cold, unmotivated and ineffective.
What Vision Does
1. It gives purpose to life: a goal to achieve something to live for
2. Vision gives hope to life: life become meaningful and hopeful
3. Vision offers direction to life: it gives a starting point and a destination.
4. Vision makes us focus: it helps you to focus on your calling, ministry, job and career.
Without vision you become a jack of all trade and a master of none.
5. It is a guiding light: vision leads and guilds our movement on earth.
6. Vision gives us passion (a strong desire) to work and succeed.
Paul’s Vision On the Road To Damascus ( Acts 26:15-21)
1. Open the eyes of the spiritually blind.
2. Turn men from darkness to light
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Deliver men from Satan’s power to God
4. Lead people to receive forgiveness of their sins
5. Assist people to obtain inheritance among the saints, e.g. the church, movements,
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The vision Paul had on the road to Damascus shaped and guided his life and ministry. It gave him purpose, hope, direction, focus, guidance and passion for the work of God (Philip 3:14, I Tim 2:7, I Corinth. 9:26)
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In all his struggles he kept his focus and never deviated from the vision he had on the Damascus road.
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Paul was shipped wrecked, beaten, and starved (II Corinth 11:22-28), yet he was bent on accomplishing his vision.
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Paul was imprisoned and was willing to die for his heavenly vision (Acts 2:3).
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Paul was faithful to his vision. He overcame resistance and obstacles to fulfill his vision. No wonder he was very powerful, unique and very successful
Apostle, missionary and evangelist among his contemporaries.
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How Do You Get a Vision?
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God is the source of all visions (revelations and dreams) Isaiah 49:9-10. You were created to fulfill a specific and a particular vision of God. You are therefore a career of divine vision.
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Visions arises out of life’s challenges and problems (Nehemiah 1:1-4)
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Out of a burden a person may have by virtue of being a leader or in a situation, for example Nehemiah in Neh. 2:5
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The word of God - Rhema ( revealed word of God for a specific purpose)
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Through prayer a vision is received into the heart for manifestation Dan.9:20. It has been said that “a man of burden is a man of prayer, a man of prayer is a man of vision, and a man of vision is a man of strategy,” Late Prophet M.K.
Yeboah.
How to Make a Vision Into a Reality
1. Planning : Write your vision on a paper
Develop a plan of action by setting realistic goals, objectives and time line
2 . Passion: Be passionate about your vision. Passion drives vision into fruition
3 . Persistence : Press on, persevere in your vision. Don’t quit. Winners don’t quit
Quitters don’t win
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Patience : It takes time to make a vision mature
5 . Prayer : Provokes divine intervention and makes what is not seen (vision) a reality
Conclusion:
The Vision of an Eagle
– Isaiah 40:29-31
1. Powerful Vision 2. Long Sighted and for Reaching
3. Very Clear Vision 4. Fresh and New
5. Alert and Aware of its Environment. 6. Sense of Direction.
May the Jehovah Elshaddai, the source of vision, be gracious unto us and grant us the vision of an eagle in order to soar up, to see the future, see clearly, to be effective and dynamic leaders who will work hard to transform our various spheres of influence: our assemblies, movements, ministries, and Atlanta District as a whole, to the glory of God. Don’t just lead, lead as a visionary leader.
God bless you.
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