The tale of how the picture was given to a person who cannot see.
The Fuller Connection
It happened during the first day of class - October 2, 2006. I attended a required course on organizational dynamics as part of the MAGL program at Fuller Theological Seminary. The professor spoke of the importance of vision. Nothing new necessarily, I had heard it all before. Then she proceeded to push us to come up with good vision statements for our organizations or ministries. If the statement contained a verb, she told us to try again. She said that a true vision created a picture, something you could see.
That's where it always broke down for me in the past. Why? Well, because I don't see. I'm not visual. In fact, I don't see pictures; I hear words. The professor continued with illustrations. She presented example after example of good vision statements. The entire group got into it. Even me who does not see. I dared to dream and I wondered...could it happen for me? The examples helped. I heard the words people spoke and then - I heard it! In fact, I could almost see it. The essence of the statement was: A prepared missional community of trained people connected to serve others in the love of Christ. The original vision statement was longer than that...it was too long. But it inspired me!
It Takes A Team
When the afternoon class ended, I virtually bounded back to my hotel room. My friend Tamara had come with me to Fuller to take a vacation. As I entered the hotel room, Tamara sensed my enthusiasm and listened to my story. She heard the vision and could see the picture. (She is very visual.) The next day, she suggested a name - Semper Vita - meaning 'always life' in Latin. We knew that this was it. Semper Vita began emerging. After my week-long class in Pasadena, I came home and shared the vision with my husband, Fred. He embraced it and became part of the equation. Now there were three of us - envisioning a new future.
Over the next few months, Tamara and I spoke of Semper Vita weekly and sometimes daily. She started her Fuller MAGL degree program. We targeted our learning to benefit the development of the vision - working to make Semper Vita a reality. In March 2007, at a training event, we met Del and Jeremy. We learned that they shared our passion. They embraced the vision and joined the Semper Vita journey soon after. Later in 2007, Ed and Darrell joined the team to help us launch this new venture.
Refining The Vision
In November 2007, we started meeting monthly as a team. We wrestled through concepts and revisited the vision. Over time, with much discussion and prayer, the refined vision was born. We decided that the core of Semper Vita's vision is to see everyone experience Jesus through service in community. This is the vision that we're all about.
The team now meets every three weeks to continue working on making this vision a reality. It takes much prayer. We need your support - both in your prayers and your donations, but mostly with your participation. You are what Semper Vita is all about. Without you, we won't be able to fulfill the dream and make Semper Vita a reality.
It started in a classroom and now we've stepped out into the world.
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