“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he.” Proverbs 29:18
In my opinion one of the top elements that are keeping a church from becoming thriving and transformative is its lack of mission, vision and values. It has been my experience that a church that does not have a clear mission and vision statement and no idea what its core values are is a church that is destined to flounder and potentially fail. In the next three articles I will talk about how important each of these three concepts work and how to develop them in your church.
The Mission Statement
Let’s start with the mission statement. The mission statement trumps everything, every time, in all circumstances. It trumps the pastor. It trumps the members. It wins every argument. A mission statement is a matter of life and death. The difference between a church that knows and lives its mission and one that does not is the difference between a life-saving station and a country club.
The Mission Statement Answers the Question, Why Do We Exist?
This statement is a simple and easily understood declaration that describes what the church is ultimately supposed to be doing. It is a statement that is used to navigate the church. It should always be biblical, concise and contagious.
It serves as guardrails that keeps us on the right path and is anchored in the Great Commission. The mission statement reminds the people in your church that they are sent from God as his representatives everywhere each and every day.
The Mission Statement is a Radical Call to Live as Sent Ones.
Every church should gather together a group of leaders whose mission is to answer the question, why do we exist? The team determine what words they will use to remind people that their church exists to make and cultivate followers of Jesus Christ so that they may go and make and cultivate more followers of Jesus Christ.
This statement should stir people to action, be memorable, be radical, be easy to understand, and keep the church focused.
In his book, Unique Church, Will Mancini reminds us that every statement needs to have five ingredients if it is going to be contagious. Here they are:
- It needs to be CLEAR.
- It needs to be CONCISE.
- It needs to be CATALYTIC.
- It needs to be CONTEXTUAL.
- It needs to be COMPELLING.
Creating Your Church’s Mission Statement
Step 1: Strategically gather a mission, vision and values team.
Step 2: Define what a mission statement is and its importance.
Step 3: Share other mission statements with the group.
Step 4: Break into groups and begin creating
Step 5: Consolidate into one mission statement.
Step 6: Make sure it meets the five requirements above.
Step 7: Rewrite.
It’s important to remember that you are looking for is consensus not unanimous approval. Also, make sure that the mission statement is contagious. It should have action words, easy to remember, and roll off the tongue.
Once You Have a Mission Statement, What’s Next?
Once you have your contagious, memorable, and action-packed mission statement the real work begins. It’s time to start living into your mission statement by making it known and sharing it every chance you get. This means including it on every document, every media source, and every gathering. More importantly, its time to start incarnating it in every decision made and ministry area of the church. The mission statement is not just a catchy phrase, it is to be lived out and embraced by every part of the church.
Next, We Will Look at the Core Values
