Mission statements can do more harm than good if they are words that don’t have corresponding action.
Your mission is not defined by words on a wall or on your church letterhead but by the heart and soul of the culture of your congregation AND the leadership style that undergirds congregational life.
A church that exists to reach the lost will do everything in their power to do so. If you put the comfort of the members over the reaching of the lost, your mission is the first, not the second.
So often our mission statement is an aspiration rather than reality and that is a dangerous thing to embrace and be okay with because people will be looking to see if what you are doing aligns with what you are saying. If you say you are welcoming, they better feel welcome when they come. If you say you exist to reach the lost, then your decision making processes should reflect a leaning toward…no…a pursuit of things that produce that outcome.
One way you can tell how serious a church is about mission is how leadership deals with complainers. Capitulating to complainers allows the complainer to set the priorities and agenda. Standing up for the vision and mission in the midst of resistance means the mission and vision have actually been embrace and internalized by the leadership that they are willing to defend it in the face of opposition.
