Could you draw a simple picture to explain how you accomplish the mission of your church? We always emphasize the practice of communicating vision visually at Auxano. This is particularly true when it comes to your strategy or what we call the "missional map:" a picture or process that shows how your church will accomplish its mission on the broadest level. This kind of clarity is a missing element in our most effective churches. Unclear strategy keeps guests from knowing next steps, hinders leaders from having a contagious influence on others, and keeps staff working in silos.This month's Fast Company (this post was originally published in 2008) has a great article that magnifies the practice of developing a missional map with our clients. Its called the Napkin Sketch: How Wal-Mart, Microsoft, and others are using the power of images to digest complex ideas.
"You ought to be in pictures. No, really. Companies are increasingly using simple pictures to distill complicated concepts into easily shared, easily remembered nuggets. "Graphic expression and visual thinking are a central part of human cognition," says Neil Cohn. Read article