Seeing dreams come true

"It’s not just dreams that are a gift from God – so are the strategies that must accompany them."

God created us to have dreams, and great leaders are great dreamers. Writer Bill Easum says, ‘Leaders have strong imaginations… they dream and daydream and in their minds and hearts go places most of us have never thought of, and they take us with them.’

Manchester needs people who find God’s grace to dream really big dreams. If we only dream about what we might achieve in our own resources, then our vision will be very small. Therefore we must keep asking God to give us vision.

I love being with leaders who have strong imaginations and the courage to take risks of faith.

One of the projects connected with CCM is the Oasis community project in Gorton and whenever I am available, I go down and wash a few dishes. They work with about 100 adults a week, many living on benefits, some struggling with debt, others with addictions, others with mental health issues.

Being with Victoria and the team from Oasis, seeing a dream they had a few years ago now a reality, is inspirational. And they’re not alone – many people are today running with dreams that just a few years ago were just that – dreams. 

But I’ve found it’s not just the dreams that are a gift from God – so are the strategies that must accompany them.

There are so many illustrations in the Bible about people who had amazing dreams. One of my favourites is Noah. God gave him a massive vision: the responsibility to save the world by building an ark to carry his family and two of every kind of animal. 

But more than this, He also gave him very specific dimensions and instructions, so that in his mind Noah could ‘see’ the finished ark before he had begun. This meant that he could stand against all the ridicule because he knew that one day his dream would become a reality.

Dreams have to be fleshed out in plans and strategies. Wishful thinking and sunny optimism won’t get the job done. Like Noah, the dream must have ‘an ark’ to carry the purposes of God. Having the right flexible structure for the church and churches God has told us to plant is vital for our dreams to become a reality.

Seeing dreams come true

God created us to have dreams, and great leaders are great dreamers. Writer Bill Easum says, ‘Leaders have strong imaginations… they dream and daydream and in their minds and hearts go places most of us have never thought of, and they take us with them.’