We communicate a clear vision and mission.
The central and vital elements of any organization are its vision and mission. Stoa is a nonprofit ministry accountable to our mission and God. Our mission, “To train homeschool students to speak boldly and change the world for Christ,” is something we strive to communicate in every way and as often as possible.
Successful organizations also have a vision for the future. Stoa’s vision statement is “To develop world-class communicators who speak boldly and change the world for Christ.” Similar to our mission statement, yes, but the focus of the vision statement is different. Oxford English Dictionary defines the word vision as “The ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom.” Vision is about the future; the future God has for Stoa. God also stresses the importance of vision in Proverbs 29:18: “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”
While it is important to have an easily articulated vision statement, what is much more important is that we seek God’s will and wisdom for Stoa’s future. Where does He want Stoa to be in a year? Five years? Fifty years? The Stoa leadership team regularly and prayerfully sets goals. Many goals are long-term and aspirational, like having strong clubs in every state and many other countries. Other goals are short-term, like developing a new set of integrated IT tools.
Stoa’s future is bright. Our community of speakers and debaters is fulfilling our vision and mission by changing the world for Christ. As we continually seek God’s will, we are fully confident He will bless Stoa abundantly this year and in the years to come.