Helping Others Develop Their Life Mission

Serving leaders help others discover a vision for their life, breaking it down into four parts: purpose, picture of the future, values, and goals or strategies.

Everyone was created at a certain time, in a certain place, for a certain purpose (see Acts 17:26). Life purpose or “calling” is identified by seeing where one’s passion, proficiency, and profitability overlap. So serve your people by:

1) Helping them discover their PASSION: What holds their interest? What would they do if money was not an issue? Warning: Just because they love doing something does not mean that it is their calling.

2) Helping them identify their PROFICIENCY (strengths): When do they feel God’s pleasure? What work are they skilled at doing? What do they get rewarded for or hear others say they are good at? How do they describe their gifts, skills, and abilities? Warning: Just because they are good at something does not mean that it is their calling.

3) Helping them become self-sustaining or PROFITABLE while influencing the world: Is there a way to support themselves by what they do? Warning: Just because they make money doing something, doesn’t mean that it’s their calling.

The second part of one’s vision should include a picture of the future. It must be clear, concise, and motivating. It should also serve to inspire them in hard times.

The third part concerns one’s values. These are non-negotiable priorities that define character, guide behaviors, and inform decisions. One should have no more than five and rank-order them based on importance (check out this other blogpost where I dive deeper on this subject). Each value should also include defining statements such as, “I know I am living by this (value) when I...”

The fourth and final aspect of one’s vision concerns their goals or strategies to accomplish their vision. Help them figure out how to implement their vision in practical ways. They should set SMART goals— S pecific (What? Where? When?), M easurable (Can they track progress?), A chievable (Can they accomplish it in the time-frame they’ve set?), R elevant (Is it important/Kingdom-focused?), and T ime-bound (Will they know when it’s done?).

[Next week we will look at three disciplines of a serving leader at the KNOWING level.]