Identify the Mission/Purpose
and Vision for the Church
Personally study what the Bible says about the
Church and its mission/purpose.
As the leader, set aside time to allow God to
speak to you through His Word, about His mission/purpose
for the Church in general, and for your church
specifically. It is profitable to periodically
rediscover God's mission and purpose for the Church
to maintain proper focus.
One means of refocusing on God's mission and purpose
is through the use of the Discovering Your Mission/Purpose
and Vision Work Sheet (Work Sheet #1).
Involve leadership in identifying the Church's
mission/purpose.
Identify and involve the primary influencers in
your church. Influencers include those who hold
formal positions of leadership such as deacons,
elders, and ministry team leaders as well as those
who are informal leaders who don't have an official
position but have influence in the church. Influencers
are the people that others look to when decisions
are being made.
Guide your leadership team through the Discovering
Your Mission/Purpose and Vision Work Sheet (Work
Sheet #1) which you previously completed. Allow
them to wrestle with the Scriptures identifying
God's mission/purpose for the Church and its implications
for your local church. It is very important that
the scriptural foundation be established in the
minds and hearts of those who will be responsible
to implement this philosophical change. It is vital
that these individuals understand that God's only
plan is to work in and through the church to reconcile
the world to himself by building people according
to the image of Christ.
Refine the mission/purpose statement and vision
slogan for your church.
Generally speaking, the mission/purpose statement
should reflect the unique and special purpose you
believe God has planned for your church. It will
answer the question, "Why does our church exist?"
Communicate the mission/purposes of your church
in a variety of ways.
The mission can be best communicated when leadership
understands the needs, dreams, hopes, and aspirations
of the people they serve. From this understanding,
leaders can communicate how the mission benefits
them and how their needs, greatest dreams, hopes,
and ambitions can be realized by participating
in fulfilling mission.
There are many practical ways to communicate the
declared mission of your church. Examples of these
vehicles include:
Sermons and teaching related to the church's
vision, values, functions, goals, strategies,
gifts, and experiences.
Leadership retreats at which you pray and strategize
regarding further implementation of the church's
mission.
Displaying the vision statement on all internal
and external forms of communication.
Communicating the mission and vision of the
church in all training experiences.
Articles to the congregation communicating
the vision and values.
It is also important for the congregation to see
the priority leadership places on the mission/purpose
statement that has been developed. Here are a few
ways this can be accomplished.
Only hire staff who support the church's vision.
Enlist key leaders who understand, embrace,
and can communicate the vision.
Use the vision as a guide in decision making,
planning, and assessing all ministries.
Provide opportunities for commitment to the purposes
of the church.
Provide opportunities for individuals to buy into
the vision and to make a commitment to grow spiritually.
In one church, at the beginning of each new year,
the pastor challenges the people to grow spiritually.
He asks them to identify where they are on the
Circles of Commitment and on the Diamond. (These
tools will be explained in the next stage.) He
then encourages them to take the next step in their
quest to become all God wants them to be. He provides
information to help them along their spiritual
journey, and encourages them to make a commitment
to get moving.
Another church takes a Sunday each month and emphasizes
one of the five functions of the Church. In the
month that they emphasize discipleship/teaching,
they talk about the specific discipling/teaching
ministries of the church. They explain why these
ministries are important to one's spiritual development
and to the health of the church. They encourage
those who are not personally involved in one of
these ministries to become involved in order to
grow in this area of their lives. In the month
they emphasize ministry/service, they have members
give testimonies of how their lives have been enriched
through serving. Leadership uses this opportunity
to introduce the congregation to the WBP philosophy
and the discovery class which helps people identify
their spiritual gifts. People are encouraged to
get involved by discovering and developing their
God-given gifts
