How Do You Help a Child Discover a Vision?

Young students need to discover what God is calling them to do. Sometimes the calling involves their lives right now. For others the vision might need nurturing, training, or more education. As I have done some reading recently, I have been impressed with a number of young people who have made a significant change in the world around them.

Consider Josiah - a boy of 8 years-old who became king of Israel. By the time he was a young teenager, Josiah had brought significant moral, social, spiritual, and ethical reforms to his country (2 Kings 22-23).

Or Joan of Arc, who as a teen, led 3000 French knights to victory.

Or Trevor Ferrill who was 11 years old in 1983. As a typical pre-teen, he was doing his homework in front of the TV. A documentary came on the tube about the homeless in his hometown of Philadelphia, PA. Trevor was moved emotionally and deeply motivated to help these people who were without a place to stay and without food to eat. With the help of his folks, Trevor delivered a blanket and a sack lunch to a homeless person in the inner city of Philadelphia (the city of Brotherly Love). But this one time delivery was not enough for Trevor and soon this because an adventure that included his whole family. Trevor, his parents, his brother and two sisters were making nightly trips to downtown Philadelphia. Church groups and other service organizations heard about this ministry and started to support the outreach - before long, over 100 homeless people were impacted every night. Vans were donated; volunteers joined them in the streets. In less than two years, "Trevor's Campaign" became a million dollar, non-profit organization including 100 volunteers and a formal board of directors. A homeless shelter (Trevor's Place) was established; a book, Trevor's Place: The Story of the Boy Who Brings Hope to the Homeless, was published; even a made for TV movie, Christmas on Division Street, was aired in 1991 (read more at http://archives.citypaper.net/articles/2003-12-04/cb2.shtm).

Reading about the lives of John Wesley, Mozart, and Bill Gates will continue to demonstrate the leadership potential of young people. Each with a vision and the passion to turn that vision into reality. So how do we help children develop vision? How can we help develop leadership skills in the hearts of the next generation.

T. Elmore (2001) makes numerous suggestions in developing leadership qualities in children. Five of them impressed me as I read about this area of helping children formulate a vision for their lives.

First, help them identify a burden or a problem that grabs their heart. Watch the news; read the newspaper; reflect on current events - explore the issues that they see around them. Then encourage them to make a list about what can be done to solve one of the problems. Developing an awareness of need and cultivating a heart of compassion can sensitize one's spirit to service. Delineating a possible solution, not only builds solid decision making analysis, but also drives home the element of personal responsibility.

Second, encourage children to read and listen to positive books, CDs, DVDs, podcasts, and websites. Provide for them a rich diet of big ideas from great people. Help them to dream by exposing them to dreamers - inventors, explorers, authors, and pioneers.

Third, exhort them to write out their dreams. Have them think about the answers to challenging questions. What is there about the world that they would like to change? What needs to be different in their family.... in their school.... in their community? What would they try, if they had no fear of failure? If they had spare time, how would they like to spend it? What activities and interests spark their imagination? How can they use their talents to help others? As a parent, be sensitive to look for areas that might hold a vision for them.

Fourth, interview visionary leaders. Develop a list of questions and then sit down with several creative, effective leaders. Record the interviews and then listen for common threads and insights. Ask the leaders about their passions. Ask them to describe their vision and how they discovered it. Ask them if they might define leadership in terms of a metaphor or picture (like a brick layer, or a planter of trees, or a compass pointing true north). Ask them to share three major goals they are working on right now. Creativity develop some questions that the child would like to ask these leaders.

Fifth, find a visual reminder of the child's goals/vision. Post pictures, photos, quotes, and scriptures that will remind them of what they can do if they follow their dream. These visual reminders can be a great source of motivation and inspiration. Keeping the dream in front of a child can encourage the heart and develop diligence and determination. As an adult learner involved in a formal degree program, I found many ways to focus my path - one of those was a quote from Peter Senge (1999), "The Journey is the Reward". I love this idea of focusing on the process more than the destination. If each step along the path is enjoyed to the fullest and every experience is embraced as a meaningful point of growth/development, then the trip is the treasure and the final destination is only the culmination of the adventure. This idea really helped me focus on my academic journey to the place that the experience became the goal... more than grades or a diploma... although the diploma was sure a nice result. I put this quote on my laptop as a screen saver. (Thanks, Peter for the inspiration! And thanks Tim, for such great insights into vision casting for young minds! - although I don't think either of you will ever read this blog).

Elmore, T. (2001). Nurturing the leader within your child: What every parent needs to know. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

Sengue, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Doubleday