Mission, Vision, Strategy - Part 2
So what are Vision, Mission and Strategy? One of the problems in our efforts involving Vision, Mission, and Strategy is that we do not understand them and recognize their specific roles and differences.
Simply put, Mission answers the questions of who we are and why we exist; Vision talks about who and, or what we want to become; while Strategy addresses how we will fulfill our Mission and experience or achieve our Vision. As such they should be addressed in order - Mission, Vision, and then Strategy.
It is important to know who you are. What is unique or special about your congregation? This is not about taking an inventory of your assets and liabilities, but more of a look at what makes you tick. What matters to you? Where are your values. While all churches should hold the basic values of Christianity at their core and will possess some degree of a large number of values in common, there are certain things about your congregation that really define who you are. Maybe it is a burden for the inner city or the poor. Maybe it is a connection with youth or the elderly. While there can be many, it is important to try and get it down to those that really seem to strike at the core of where your desire and hunger as Christians are. We need to believe that God has brought our congregation together for a purpose, including our common ministry desires.
Once we understand who we are we can define our mission. Our mission will be to be the best and most effective we can be at accomplishing that which God has ladi on our hearts. A Mission Statement should always be positive and challenging.
Our Vision, while different, will be similar to our Mission Statement. Where do we want our mission to take us? Remove the barriers and where would be if we could carry out the desires of our hearts in ministry. That is your vision.
How can we be successful? How do we get to where we want to be, more importantly to where God wants us to be? Those are questions that Strategy will answer.
Strategy is more than just a collection of good ideas. Strategy must be the partner of Mission and Vision. It is the face of Mission and Vision. There are several good ideas, not all of them fit into your congregation’s vision and mission.
Strategy provides actionable ways to carry out the mission and to reach toward the vision. Years ago Bus ministry was the hot ticket to church growth. We see a church using Bus ministry and growing so we figure that will work for us. But do we consider that it will require capital, bus drivers, bus captains, maintenance, more operating costs, etc. Bus ministry is a lot of work and takes a certain set of skills. It brings in a certain type people to our congregation. Can we effectively minister to them when they get here? Several churches tried a bus ministry because they saw another church grow after they started. That’s not a strategy.
Similarly we often jump to Strategy before we have a clear understanding of our mission and vision. Again, we are looking for something to make us grow rather than how we can fulfill the mission and vision that is on our heart. Sometimes we jump to Strategy because it requires the least amount of discipline. We love to sit around and talk about good ideas, dreaming of the miraculous results.
Brainstorming and dreaming are good, but we should never act on them until they pass the test of mission and vision. Does the ministry or activity we are talking about fit into our mission? Is it who we are in our hearts? Does this ministry lead to our vision or does it just produce excitement and/or more numbers?
The classic phrase that I like to use in illustrating the leap to strategy before mission and vision comes from the Movie, ‘Field of Dreams’ (1); “If you build it they will come”. While that made for a good movie and even challenges to operate in faith, it is not a good standard to live by or to minister by.
(1) Field of Dreams, Directed and Adapted by Phil Alden Robinson
