3 Activities For A LaFe Vision Gathering
Rich Lamb describes vision as “An attractive picture of an attainable reality.” At some point in your planting of a LaFe ministry, you need to gather people to help them see this attractive picture.
Here are 3 key activities that will help you have an excellent vision gathering …
1. Find the right setting. You want the people you’re inviting to get a clear picture of what a LaFe ministry would look like on campus. Choose a location for your vision gathering that’s conducive for this goal.
One LaFe ministry held their vision gathering in the top floor of the tallest building on campus so they could look out over the campus and dream about every student they saw having a chance to respond to Jesus. Another LaFe ministry held their vision gathering on a Friday evening in the home of a volunteer who loved the campus.
Delicious food, warm hospitality and a sense of familia made for a comfortable environment to talk about what a LaFe ministry could look like. Take time to create a setting where people can give their attention to the vision and where the environment supports the conversation.
2. Create space for relationship. Latino student ministry is highly relational. A leader can get up and give the best vision talk anyone’s ever heard, but if what we’re hoping to create is a ministry of Latino students and faculty, they will have to feel like they’ve made some personal connections before they feel ready to commit to getting the ministry up off the ground. In our experience, great LaFe vision gatherings always have food and always give people time to enjoy the food and meet each other. In the Latino community, we want to connect with each other before we start moving.
3. Communicate personally. There are great resources out there to help you give an excellent talk at a vision gathering (See Chapter Planting Manual: Section 3.13-3.16). If I were going to give one piece of advice to contextualize a vision talk to a Latino audience, it’s to communicate personally. What is it about your own life story that makes you want to see a LaFe ministry planted? How did you come to the conviction that this needed to be done and that now was the time? What are you planning to do to contribute to this getting off the ground?
Our Latino community doesn’t follow statistics or urgent need nearly as well as we follow leaders with whom we have connected. Share how the desire for a LaFe ministry plant connects to your heart and your story and you’ll have done well.
