Remembering The Mission Statement

We've been looking at the idea of a mission statement, and have maintained that the mission statement for a congregation must be biblical and comprehensive. It must also be memorable. Then . . . you have to remember it. (Yeah, I know that sounds redundant -- but I have a memorable email address. If you know my name, you can remember the address. It's amazing though how many people forget it). It's surprising how many churches with good mission statements seem to toss the statement aside when it comes to formulating new plans and projects.

The leadership of a congregation I'm familiar with decided they wanted a Christian School. They reasoned: This school will let people know we care about children and will help us win their parents (and the students) to Christ.

So off they went with the school idea. It wasn't a bad idea really. In fact, it was a good one.

But years have gone by. The school occupies the lion's share of the church's resources and a good part of leader meetings concern the current challenge of the school.

How many people have they discipled as a result of the school?

Not one.

But they might in the future. That's true. It's also doubtful. Because currently, every bit of energy goes into keeping the school open. No one has time for discipling, and there are no concrete plans for making disciples. It's more of a "if we build it, they will come" mentality.

But they aren't coming.

None of this is to say that the school is a bad idea. The problem is that people became so wrapped up in the project that they forgot the mission. As I've written earlier, it's one thing to produce top notch copy machines. It's another entirely to make money off them. The church is not in the business of making money, but we'd better be in the business of making disciples. That was Christ's last command (at least according to Matthew). We're in the good works business, but that's not our only business -- nor is it enough, as followers of Jesus, to just be in that business.

Next week: "Wiggle room"