Creating a Mission Statement.
John Pape, Jr.
Proverbs 20:18 Make plans by seeking advice; if you wage war, obtain guidance.
Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell
together in unity!
Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish.
The Mission Statement
You need to have a big picture of the team and the ministry. This decree
will be the foundation of everything you do in this ministry. An effective
mission statement will create a unified focus that can be use as a compass
to help fulfill the objective of your ministry. Whenever the team seems to
be off track, it can be brought back in line by reviewing the mission statement.
A mission statement also acts as a filter to help determine the scope of
what to do or not to do. When a situation comes up you can consult the mission
statement and ask yourself. "Does this help fulfill the goal of the ministry?"
If it does then you have a green light to do it. Otherwise if it is not in
line with the mission statement then you should not participate in that activity.
If you spend the time to create a mission statement to rest of the details
will fall into place.
A mission statement needs to be simple, short and easy to remember. Please
note that it is not meant to provide a vast array of specific details but
rather it is designed to give everyone a big picture of the scope of what
you are trying to accomplish. It is best to keep the statement down to a
paragraph but nor more than one page. As you develop the statement you will
need to refine and distill it down to the most important core values that
your group needs to demonstrate.
When creating the statement it is best that it coincides with the vision
of your church. You will need to solicit the assistance of your Pastor to
insure that everyone is on the same page and that there are no discrepancies
in the mission statement.
Also because this is a ministry you should spend time in prayer, read the
Word and ask God to reveal to you the primary purpose of your ministry. Each
component needs to have a biblical basis and it is a good idea to have scripture
references to reinforce the mission statement.
A mission statement provides this important information
The first piece of information a mission statement communicates is what the
ministry is trying to accomplish and contribute to the body of Christ. We
need to be Doers of the Word not just Hearers. In the ministry you will perform
specific tasks that will fulfill the mission purpose. As you begin to seek
you need to know what it is you are going to do. This is an adventure in
discovery. As a Praise and Worship ministry one thing you may want to accomplish
is bringing the church into the presence of God through music and song. Taking
it a step further you need to define the role of the ministry. By defining
the role you are able to pinpoint its contribution to the church.
The second thing your mission statement must communicate is what you want
the ministry to be. While the first part of the mission focuses on the action
the second part deals primarily with character. As Christian we are on a
pilgrimage and every day we draw closer to our homeland in heaven. And every
day God is molding and shaping us as the Potter forms the clay. The mission
statement reveals to us what we are to look like in the future. While
participating in the ministry certain quality and character will manifest
itself in the believer.
When looking at the two elements of 1) "what to do" and 2) "what to be" take
note that they have a symbiotic relationship. Each component defines and
supports the other. To create a powerful and effective mission statement
you need to have both elements. And this is the result. By performing a specific
activity that fulfills the mission, it will transform us into the image of
what the Lord wants us to be.
Six Steps to creating your ministry mission statement
The following is a simple exercise in creating a mission statement for your
ministry. Use it as a guideline to help you in its development. Now is the
time for brainstorming. Think of as many things as you can just let the ideas
and thoughts flow. Pray and ask for revelation. Seek God's word for confirmation.
Once you have an exhaustive compilation of ideas you can begin to distill,
edit and define your mission. Write a rough draft and then let is percolate
for a few days. Come back and look it over make any changes you see need
to be made. Have others in your team and church leadership. Look it over
and ask for feedback.
Step One Define what you want this ministry and do
Complete the following -
-
I see this ministry doing this…
-
Now define its role
-
Brainstorm
-
Pray
-
Seek Scripture
Step Two Define what you want this ministry to be.
-
I see this ministry becoming this…
-
What Character Qualities to you see?
Step three Discover the core value
-
Ask yourself "What's important about serving God to you?"
-
When you answer that take it a step further and use that answer and ask what
important about that answer to you.
-
Repeat until you have exhausted all possibilities.
When you finish you will have a picture of your core value.
Step four a First Draft
-
Take all of the data complied in the prior three steps and begin to write
a 1st draft
-
Use this formula - We believe (core value) (this is what we do) in order
to (become). Fill in the appropriate items within the parentheses.
Step five Evaluate
Step six Write a final draft
RESOURCE BOX
This article is an excerpt for the new book by John Pape, Jr titled "Building
a House of Worship" For more information on how you can get your copy
of this book go to...
http://www.buildingahouseofworship.com
SPECIAL NOTICE: Please feel free to publish
this article in your e-zines, newsletters, on your website or in your
book. I only require that you publish the Resource Box and the end of the
article.
Copyright John Pape Jr. |
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