Myth 1 – page 32: “Weve got a mission statement so we have figured out who we are.”
The youth ministry I was a part of in Wellington had a mission statement that was used really for the leaders and sent to parents too on letterheads from the head youth worker (me). I then decided as a mission statement it was too long and no one really knew it. At the heart of it should be, what a church aspires to be in the community and what they do as a result of that. But I heard a great saying once, that: “vision leaks.” I might talk about it and preach it Sunday, but 3-4 weeks later it has gone from most peoples radar. So I changed it to something much shorter and clearer. So even the youth knew what we met for, the logo we had reflected it as did all our activites. Still that is not enough upon relfection, so I think congregations need to remember that vision and mission leak and so thereofre does passion for the vision and the mission so the church mision always needs to be before peopels eyes in some way, shape or form, to remind the church what they are there for and why they exist. We might call this holistic communication, which is vital to every church and ministry.
July 26
ReplyDeleteCommunication, to be effective, needs to be consistent across the whole range of activities of your church. Was your mission statement purely for the youth or was there a different message for each of the activities of the community?
A mission statement should reflect the most important core value of the church. It should be reinforced across all methods of communication whether pamphlets, newsletter web site or blog. The core value is proclaimed in banners and notice board. This way everyone whether youth, parent or worshipper understands the identity of the congregation and then values that set it apart and make it unique. ( 103 words)
the mission statement was for the whole church yes, in my practical expereince putting the statment on all the church literature, does not mean everyone understsands the identity, maybe they do at a head level, but the drop to the heart is another thing entirely! The notice board outside my church in auckland says: worship, mission, caring - does that make us missional?
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