Most medium and large sized companies now have mission statements outlining their purpose and objectives. It helps people to decide if it is the right kind of organisation for them to become involved with or affiliated to. Similarly, a lot of modern churches have embraced this strategy to reassure members and make core principles clear to newcomers and those seeking a place to worship.
What is a Church Mission Statement?
A good definition for a church mission statement is a sentence or short paragraph which is written by a church which reflects its core purpose, identity, values and spiritual beliefs.
If you are seeking a church to attend and especially if you are new to the area it is important to examine their mission statement carefully. Essentially, a church mission statement defines the leadership's vision of congregational purpose and tells you if their vision is in line with God's purposes for your life. If it is clearly a church that is evangelistic, for example, or active in the community, then this is something you want to know about from the start.
How do you Write a Mission Statement?
Writing a church mission statement is a hard but very important task and takes time. It needs to be both positive and inspirational. Start off by making a list of what your church does. Examples for this might be the core beliefs, the services, involvement with the congregation – young and old, Bible study classes, community drop-in sessions, a weekday playgroup, sending church workers overseas, etc.
Compile this information in a few short paragraphs and be prepared to evaluate and amend over time. The following is an example and can be used as a basic framework to add to:
Mission Statement Template
A church mission statement typically includes the following components:
"Objectives and Aims of The [Church Name] in [Location]. [Insert church details.]
- "We aim to promote unity and diversity to advance God's purpose. This will be done [discuss methods] and through the use of community projects such as [explain].
- "Seek to empower individuals in every walk of life. We offer courses on a range of topics [discuss topics] and believe in the value of pastoral support as required and desired.
- "See friendship as the basis of any working together.
- "Aim to co-operate through friendship with other groupings and denominational churches to facilitate God's purpose.
- "Have a clear commitment to share with the whole congregation, on a regular basis, the financial affairs of the church.
- "Shall endeavour to support the foreign ministry of [name] by prayer and finance.
- "We shall review our statement annually and make known any changes."
What About Core Spiritual Beliefs?
It is important to include the key fundamental beliefs in the statement also. The following are some basics that can be modified and elaborated upon in the following manner.
"We believe in:
- "The one true God who lives eternally in three persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
- "The love, grace and sovereignty of God in creating, sustaining, ruling, redeeming and judging the world.
- "The authority of scripture.
- "The incarnation of God’s eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ – born of the virgin Mary; truly divine and truly human, yet without sin.
- "The atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross and subsequent resurrection and ascension to the Father.
- "The justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ.
- "The personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfill the purposes of God."
Essentially, everything that each individual church promotes, believes and embraces needs to be recorded in writing as a clear and visible reference for all.
Readers may also be interested to read about Writing your Testimony.
Sources:
- Mission Statement Writing Information retrieved 9th October 2010.
- The Evangelical Alliance. Information retrieved 9th October 2010.
Linda Smallwood - Hi my name is Linda Smallwood. I am married with two sons aged 13 and 11 and live in North Wales. After 18 years working for The ...
