Who We Are
Visionwriters is a mentoring program. We have a long-term vision or worldview; one that is committed to a long-term Gospel. Vision either determines victory, or its absence produces despair. God’s word imparts vision. Writing the vision helps us sort things out, for thoughts are untangled at the point of a pen. But writing isn’t enough if it falls short of application. We help people apply the truth, because truth without application is just information. When truth is applied it is powerful.
Our vision was birthed by Jaque (Banas) Shank in the early 1980’s and employs enough structure to help us renew our minds, but not enough to deter us from having our hearts awakened by the love of Jesus Christ. The vision came in answer to Jaque’s cry for the voice and vision of Christ in her own life. As Jaque’s realization of God’s love for her grew, Visionwriters International began to take form. Over the years, this ministry has supported Christians as they eliminate the ache of a seemingly silent God from their lives and helped to stretch them into the realization of their own ministry of love to others.
Initially, Jaque wrote studies to guide herself through God’s word, and they worked so well that others began to ask her to share what she was learning. So she executed a plan to serve those drawn to follow her as she followed Christ. After twenty-five years of implementing now and perfecting later, Visionwriters has been successful in helping Christians deepen their faith. Today Visionwriters utilizes several study courses that awaken the realization of God’s love through discipline, accountability, relationship and community, or what we refer to as D.A.R.C.
We realize that the world will reap rewards from our faithfulness, because our vision affects not only our potential but the potential of future generations. As we facilitate people returning to God for truth that truly sets them free, we apprehend our goal, one soul at a time. There are no V.I.P.s at Visionwriters, only trailblazers and mavericks, because our vision is not for bigger ministry but for spreading the love and passion of Christ-one soul at a time.
The following statement introduces our program and subsequently explains why, what, and how we incorporate the D.A.R.C. at Visionwriters International:
I hear, I forget.
I see, I remember.
I write, I understand.
I choose, and I become.
What We Believe
- We believe in one true God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – equally possessing the attributes of Deity and characteristics of personality.
- We believe Jesus Christ is God, the living Word become flesh through His miraculous conception and virgin birth. He is perfect Deity and true humanity united in one person forever.
- We believe in the atoning death of Jesus Christ who lived a sinless life and voluntarily atoned for the sins of all men through His death on the cross as their substitute, thus satisfying divine justice and accomplishing salvation for all who trust Him. We believe in His bodily resurrection, ascension to the right hand of the Father, and personal return to consummate history and the eternal plan of God.
- We believe the salvation of man is wholly a work of God’s grace and is not the work, in whole or in part, of human works, goodness or religious ceremony. God imputes His righteousness to those who have faith in Christ and thereby justifies them in His sight.
- We believe the Holy Spirit has come into the world to reveal and glorify Christ, to convict and draw sinners to Christ, to impart and apply new life to believers, to continually indwell believers from the moment they are born from above, to teach and admonish them, and to seal them until the day of redemption. The power of the Holy Spirit is appropriated by faith.
- We believe God wants His people to assemble together on a regular basis to worship, participate in ordinances, openly lead accountable, prayerful and honorable lives, edify one another through Scripture, and to mutually encourage one another.
- We believe the Bible is the inspired and only infallible Word of God, inerrant in its original intent, and to be accepted as a believer’s guide in matters pertaining to faith, conduct and doctrine.
- We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in Christ.
- We believe Jesus Christ commanded us to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world and to disciple people of every nation, the fulfillment of which requires all worldly and personal ambition to be subordinated to “Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.”
- We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost. At physical death the believer continues eternal, conscious fellowship with the Lord and awaits the resurrection of his body to everlasting glory and blessing. At physical death the unbeliever continues eternal, conscious separation from the Lord and awaits the resurrection of his body to everlasting judgment and condemnation.
Our Mission & Vision
Mission Statement
- Our mission is to eliminate from the world the ache of a silent God.
Vision Statement
- To disciple believers wherever they are through our specific class structure to have fellowship with and confidence in God, through listening, writing, doing and becoming the vision that is His reward on a daily basis.
- To increase trust in God and His plan for our lives as we learn to live in seamless unity with Him and with those things He commits us to.
A Closer Look at Our Vision Statement
To disciple – To mentor and train by love and example through structure and practice so others may live from righteousness, peace, and joy. To teach and tutor by being a self for others laboring with those who are active participants with the Holy Spirit in the quest for Truth.
believers- Those who are born from above or ready to be, those willing to pick up their cross and follow Jesus, humble hearts looking for real relationship with the real Christ, nitty-gritty seekers who will let go of opinions to learn something new, people looking for the right questions and the right answers, people willing to look outside the box and those who will work out their own salvation in Christ.
wherever they are – They are in church, out of church, on their way, in their way, this religion, that religion, no religion. Only God can draw them and He will go anywhere to get them. We do not presume to know who they are, and are not shocked by who they are not. We look with open hearts to greet them as they come.
through our specific class structure – That arrangement, configuration, composition, form and shape which was put into a generalship for such a time as this. Its purpose is to initiate discipline, accountability, relationship, community, participation, safety, inclusiveness, acceptance, insight, revelation and unconditional love. The strategy is the feet of our mission and allows us to “take them,” not just “tell them.”
to have fellowship with – Open communication, free dialogue, straight pathways, clear channels, sincere friendship, true relationship, honest conversation, unconditional love and responsive interaction that shows we desire above anything else (whether service, ministry, miracles, signs, wonders, or prophecies that would impress our friends) to be with Him for Him, to come to know Him intimately and to share that same kind of fellowship with those in our own community.
and confidence in God – To know He hears us because our hearts do not condemn us. And if they do, to know He is greater than our hearts. Thus, our hearts have rest and are full of peace and trust. It is the freedom to let go of every person, place or thought-thing that would seek to distract us from our confidence; and to speak frankly and openly about the One True Person who is the Founder of creation, the Author of all Truth, the Giver of all Life and the Lover of our souls.
through listening – Waiting in silent expectation with an awareness of His presence. To shut out the Liar and his many voices that come to put us back to sleep. To practice until we learn listening. Wading through everything that will test us and try to keep us from gaining the silence into which He speaks so we might hear. Everything we do up to this point is to train our ears to hear, in order to obey. Hearing is the reward of listening.
writing – Writing gives our understanding a greater edge. The thought and study we give to a thing will determine the measure of virtue and knowledge that comes back to us. Writing the words of God in a book, keeping a record of our conversations with Him is His command to us. It requires more attention to write than to see or to hear with an outer eye and ear. So we write the vision, we record, script, work out on paper, capture, give diligence to, attach proper esteem to, credit His name with, respect His voice in, venerate the time of, number the days until, display the hope of the vision.
doing – Devoting ourselves, our energy, our faith to the attainment of that which is desired or considered to be a healing effort, putting our efforts to a special use for a special purpose, to make practical use of relevant information or instruction, to put into immediate practice, to exercise for the purpose of strengthening, implementing now—perfecting later.
and becoming – To agree, meld, merge, emerge, transform, become new, and to be “at one” with Christ. Resting in the finished work knowing that He who began this good work is faithful to complete it. The absence of separation that renews the mind to union with Christ. John 17 in motion.
the vision – To see God as He chooses to reveal Himself to us – in us, as us. To know what to do and what not to do. This is amazing, because for all our figuring and reasoning we can’t find the right direction or discernment for our lives, much less tell someone else how they should live their lives. God is a Personal God and wants to interpret His Word into our lives Himself day by day. However, we are not islands unto ourselves. It isn’t safe for anyone who isolates themselves from the body of Christ to claim they have a vision from God, for He keeps His lambs safe within “the fold.” Together we desire the revelation that is His reward.
that is His reward – His revelation of Himself is always His reward. It’s the only reward we need. As we receive His words and are attentive enough to write them down, to chew them until they become food to us, we will discover the answer to all our questions. Belonging to Him, yet not receiving the gift of His intimate fellowship with us, isn’t enough. He wants us to possess and apply the gift that transforms our life.
on a daily basis – For we live from moment to moment and what we need to know more than anything else is that His Kingdom is in us. Everything we need or want is there but life in God requires the continual taking in and letting out of His Life. Jesus said, “and you shall go in and out and find pasture.” In and out, just like breathing. We don’t just breathe on Sundays or Wednesdays for a few hours, but daily. We need God’s reward, His presence, His love, His life, His breath every day… every, every day.
“For without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”
Hebrews 11:6 (KJV)