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Mission Statement – Step 1 In A Strategic Ministry Plan

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In the last post, I described how our company just began our Strategic Ministry Planning process. Using the C12 Group material from their Strategic Plan for Ministry seminar, I will take you through the 5 Step process to make this happen in your company. We will begin with the mission statement in this post and cover the next steps in future posts.

Mission Statement

Mission Statement

The first step in this process is crafting the mission statement. While the vast majority of large companies and corporations today have mission statements, the number of those statements that effectively achieve the true purpose of a mission statement is likely small.

Does This Describe Your Company?

Too many companies hire a consultant, take a couple of hours batting ideas around in a conference room, and come up with a nicely word-smithed sentence or two, using the latest industry buzz-words. Then they proudly print this statement on a poster or plaque and hang it in the lobby to impress customers.

If this describes your company, I apologize if it sounds harsh. I do not mean it that way. However, do you really think this type of mission statement is effective at guiding the company? How many employees use this type of statement on a daily basis to make decisions? How many even know what the mission statement is or why it is important? Right now is the time to change it!

If your company is different and is effectively using the mission statement, then congratulations! Consider your company among the best! If your company does not even have a mission statement, then now is the time to create one!

Various Methods

Some experts will tell you that your entire team has to come up with the mission statement. Others will say the number of participants is not important. You really have to figure this out on your own.

As for our company, I enlisted our leadership team made up of four key managers plus myself for the project. I brought my vision for the company in a couple of rough drafts and we went from there. Our final product effectively captured my vision, but was an improvement over my drafts.

The C12 material says this about mission statements:

They capture the organization’s purpose or fundamental reason for existing, stated in a way that resonates with both employees and customers.

5 Characteristics of an Effective Mission Statement:

[typography size=”16″ size_format=”px” color=”#222222″]Short and easy to memorize[/typography] – A mission statement needs to completely capture the essence of the company, but it cannot be so long that employees cannot remember it or explain it easily. This one is from POS Insurance Company…

[typography size=”16″ size_format=”px” color=”#222222″]Serving Him by serving you.[/typography]

If you expect it to be used as it should be, your company’s mission statement should be one carefully crafted sentence. The max should be two sentences. It should be easy to remember for every employee.

[typography size=”16″ size_format=”px” color=”#222222″]Decision-making tool[/typography]– It should be able to be used effectively as a plumb line for making decisions on a day to day basis. Consider the mission statement of the Newport News Shipyard…

[typography size=”16″ size_format=”px” color=”#222222″]We build good ships here, at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must,
but always good ships.[/typography]

Clearly, this one can be used by employees to make decisions in every area of the business.

[typography size=”16″ size_format=”px” color=”#222222″]Inspirational[/typography] – The mission statement should capture the heart and soul of your company. It should excite employees toward action in the direction it describes. Here is the C12 mission statement…

[typography size=”16″ size_format=”px” color=”#222222″]To change the world by bringing forth the Kingdom of God in the marketplace

through the companies and lives of those He calls to run businesses for Him.[/typography]

As this one does, it should reflect your company’s commitment and values. If it does not inspire you, who will it inspire?

[typography size=”16″ size_format=”px” color=”#222222″]Sense of ministry[/typography] – This is obviously a characteristic that will not be true for all companies – only those committed to business as ministry. For these types of companies, the mission statement should reflect the call of the leader to Christ-centered ministry and inspire others to join in. Look at this one from the Martin Newby Management Corp….

[typography size=”16″ size_format=”px” color=”#222222″]Sharing the love of Christ while providing unique management services for the manufactured housing industry.[/typography]

[typography size=”16″ size_format=”px” color=”#222222″]Timeless[/typography] – Rather than changing with technology and markets, an effective mission statement should be timeless. It should endure the fads that come and go, providing guidance over the long term. I like this one from Pruett Builders…

[typography size=”16″ size_format=”px” color=”#222222″]Sharing the love of Christ while building homes and relationships with excellence.[/typography]

Combining your company’s core purpose and values into an integrated and memorable mission statement is as challenging as it is important! An effective and often-used mission statement can inspire and direct team members to a worthy goal, while its absence leads nowhere.

Do you have an effective mission statement?

If so, are you maximizing its impact in your company?

If the answer is no to either question, are you ready to start?

Reading List

Recommended Reading

[box]Business[/box]

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Loving Monday: Succeeding in Business Without Selling Your Soul

by John Beckett

Instead of grinding it out until Friday and living only for weekends, a successful Ohio manufacturing executive has seen how his work can be filled with meaning and purpose by integrating his work and beliefs. Beckett brings all of life together: work, belief, value, character, relationship, truth, worship and joy. The result is employees who feel valued, enjoy their work, work hard and are successful at what they do.

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Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t

by Jim Collins

Collins that aims to describe how companies transition from being average companies to great companies and how companies can fail to make the transition. Peppered with dozens of stories and examples from the great and not so great, the book offers a well-reasoned road map to excellence that any organization would do well to consider.

 

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Business by the Book: Biblical Principles for the Workplace

by Larry Burkett

What would happen if you made your business decisions by the BOOK?  The bestselling Business by the Book offers radical principles of business Management that go beyond the Ten Commandments and other biblical maxims. Business by the Book is a step-by-step presentation of how businesses should be run according to the Creator of all management rules.
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God is My CEO: Following God’s Principles in a Bottom-Line World

by Larry Julian

Will money or morality emerge victorious in the war zone of work skirmishes? Julian, with seasoned experience as a leadership management consultant for companies such as 3M, Honeywell, AT&T and General Mills, provides solid answers for this troubling dilemma. Many leaders, whether newly indoctrinated to the world of business or veteran executives, will find tools for the trade in this excellent guidebook to living out one’s faith in a ruthless “bottom-line” world.

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Doing Business by the Good Book

by David Steward

Jesus’ teachings were not meant to be spoken only on Sunday, writes Steward, CEO of World Wide Technology Inc., the world’s largest African-American-owned company. Rather, those teachings were meant to be implemented everywhere, including the workplace. In this book, Steward shares 52 biblical principles in short, easy-to-read chapters that can be digested once a week for a full year or devoured in one sitting.

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Mover of Men and Mountains

R.G. Letourneau: Mover of Men and Mountains

by R.G. LeTourneau

Despite early failures, R. G. LeTourneau rose to eminence in the competitive world of manufacturing and construction. Although his competitors thought him insane, history has proved that his inventive genius was decades ahead of its time. His combination of enterprise and Christian commitment led to his sponsoring many works involving missions and education. Through a lifetime of business ventures, this engineering genius put faith into action and reaped big rewards.

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[box]Christian Life[/box]

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In His StepsIn His Steps by Charles Sheldon

Rev. Henry Maxwell, not fully realizing the implications of what lay ahead of him, repeated his astounding proposition, “I want volunteers from First Church who will pledge themselves, earnestly and honestly, for an entire year, not to do anything without first asking the question, “What would Jesus do?” Maxwell never dreamed that among those who responded would be the most influential members of his congregation. But together they pledged themselves to a new step of faith that would change, not just a handful of people, but an entire town – for good.

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Heaven is for RealHeaven is for Real by Todd Burpo

Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn’t know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear. Told by the father, but often in Colton’s own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.

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[box]History / Biography[/box]

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Shadow of the AlmightyShadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot

by Elisabeth Elliot

This is the account of the martyrdom of Jim Elliot and four other misisonaries at the hands of the Auca Indians in Ecuador. Elisabeth Elliot makes full use of Jim’s rich and revealing diaries to expose the roots of what makes a person at the threshold of life commit his very being to a God who he felt might call him to death at any time. Elisabeth Elliot gives us the vivid details of a life “hid with Christ in God” and creates a portrait of a figure that continues to inspire many.

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Tortured for ChristTortured for Christ

by Richard Wurmbrand

Richard Wurmbrand endured months of solitary confinement, years of periodic physical torture, constant suffering from hunger and cold, the anguish of brainwashing and mental cruelty. His captors lied to his wife, saying he was dead. Yet he went on to tell the West the truth about Christianity behind the Iron Curtain. Millions of people have been touched by this story.

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Amazing GraceAmazing Grace: William Wilberforce & the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery

by Eric Metaxas

William Wilberforce electrified Parliament in his early years. Had Wilberforce continued along this path, he might well have succeeded William Pitt the Younger as Prime Minister. Metaxas documents a powerful change to Wilberforce. Through a serious and intelligent conversion to Christianity, Wilberforce’s life was forever altered. His heart was changed … to God and humanity. He brought his faith to bear on politics … as controversial in his day as in ours.

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[box]Productivity[/box]

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Getting Things DoneGetting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

by David Allen

Allen provides tips, techniques, and tricks for implementation of his workflow management plan, which has two basic components: capture all the things that need to get done into a workable, dependable system; and discipline oneself to make front-end decisions with an action plan for all inputs into that system. In short, do it (quickly), delegate it (appropriately), or defer it.

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Disclosure: Please note that some of the links on this site are "affiliate links," and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase. Please understand that I have experience with all of these companies, and I only recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Read my complete Affiliate Disclosure.
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3 Sources of Godly Wisdom

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I made the decision to turn my business over to God.  I was going to run it as a Christian business with an eternal purpose.  Now what?  What does that really look like?  To tell the truth, I had no idea what a Christian business was or what it looked like. I did not even know where to start, so I went to look for help.

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I do not have the gift of evangelism!

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I have always feared being called to be a missionary or even worse, a street corner preacher.  Before you get mad, I am NOT saying there is anything wrong with either of these…I believe both are called and used by God.  I was simply afraid it would be me!