Ready or Not, Here They Come: 3 Ways to Lead with Vision This School Year
Three essential ways to lead your school with clarity and conviction this fall.
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” — Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)
The start of the school year brings more than just students and fresh syllabi. It brings a beautiful and holy responsibility.
In the rush of preparation, we must not forget: vision is what holds everything together. Without it, our schools drift into routine. With it, they thrive in purpose.
Vision gives people a clear picture of the preferred future God is calling us toward.
Here are three ways to lead with that kind of clarity this school year.
1. Invite Everyone into the Vision
Proverbs 29:18—“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The idea of vision isn’t just a leadership buzzword; it’s a deeply biblical theme. In fact, the word vision appears over 100 times in Scripture—86 times in the Old Testament and 17 times in the New Testament. Time and again, God used visions to guide, correct, and direct His people. Perhaps you, too, have received vision from the Lord in different seasons of your life—a sense of direction, conviction, or calling that couldn’t have come from anywhere else.
That’s why we’re beginning this year by inviting everyone into the vision. Each teacher, coach, staff member, and leader needs to understand not just the just logistics to get started, but where are we going and why.
Remind your team why the school exists: to glorify God by forming young hearts and minds in the Kingdom of God (or other language you prefer).
Speak the vision often and everywhere—during devotionals, in staff emails, through team meetings, and so on.
Help everyone see themselves not just as employees, but as partners in discipleship and God’s bigger plan.
2. Invoke the Vision Within Every Role
Vision can’t stay in the clouds or people will continue to call it “fluff” as it pertains to their everyday work.
This year, we’re invoking the vision within every individual role. Whether someone is teaching Bible, supervising recess, leading chapel, cleaning bathrooms, or managing the front desk, they’re not just doing a job. They’re fulfilling the vision from the Lord.
Ask your team, “How does the school’s vision come to life through what I do each day?”
Invite each staff member to see their work as kingdom work—reflecting Christ through consistency, compassion, and excellence.
Help them recognize that they are not merely supporting the vision. They are critical in the vision becoming a reality.
3. Celebrate the Vision in Action All Year Long
If you want your team to stay vision-focused, don’t just state the vision. Celebrate it whenever you see it come to life.
Throughout the year, commit to highlighting where the mission is bearing fruit.
Spotlight “mission moments” in staff meetings.
Share spiritual wins and student stories in newsletters.
Use social media to reflect your school’s values.
Affirm staff when they model the heart of the mission.
Testify to donors about what God is doing at the school.
What gets celebrated gets repeated. And what gets repeated shapes culture!
Final Word
In Genesis 28, Jacob falls asleep in the wilderness with a stone for a pillow. During the night, he sees a ladder stretching from earth to heaven, with angels ascending and descending. When he wakes, he says, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it” (Genesis 28:16).
That moment is a picture of what vision gives us—not just strategy or goals, but an awareness of God’s presence. We help others see that He is already at work in our schools, our teams, and our students’ lives.
So may we begin this year not just with our best plans in hand, but ready to experience God in action.
God is surely in this place. Let’s not miss it.