3. Understanding Mission in the Church

Third in Series on Planning

Whereas vision describes a future identity, mission describes the present reality, examining what directions a church must take now to move from where we are to where we want to be. Mission groups activities into categories so we can better understand the reasons they move us toward the vision. This must be done so understanding can be shared by many without having multiple programs to explain that can confuse the congregation and others.

Let us look again at Moses and the Exodus. The vision is to reach the promised land as free people rather than as slaves trapped in Egypt. To fulfill this vision, the people need to leave Egypt behind, organize as a community, survive in the wilderness and figure how to cross the Jordan into the promised land. Each of these general directions has multiple activities needed to accomplish this mission and fulfill the vision, across various timeframes.

Take as another example the sacrament of holy communion. The vision is becoming the body of Christ. The mission has four directives that move us toward the vision: we take bread, give thanks to God, break the bread, and give the bread to others. Each of these four categories of actions has multiple steps of preparation so that the bread is present, worship happens, people are prepared to distribute the elements and ushers prepared to guide people in the process used to receive in each local community. These four directions are easily remembered and have guided Christians for over 2000 years.

Multiple benefits come by having three or four general directions that group ministries in a church. It provides a framework to explain these ministries in a way that is memorable and easily communicated. A church might have close to a hundred different ministries, but they can be grouped in three or four categories that bring clarity and are easily shared with others. One church describes that we use our heads, our hands and our hearts for Jesus, and that summarizes a much more complex number of overall ministries.

Another benefit relates to the diversity found in many churches regarding the gifts possessed by its members. People want to find a ministry that matches their gifts. A mission that includes three or four general directions can offer diversity and guides members and those interested in ministry in choosing a way for them to belong.

One church's mission is to Care, Explore, Serve and Worship, recognizing that some prefer to offer care for members, while others want to learn and teach about faith, while others want to act on faith, and others are drawn to help with worship. Such diversity gives everyone a group of activities that match their preferences, but still moves in the direction of the church's vision.

I suggest three or four general directions for mission because the size of the church does dictate the amount of ministries. Smaller churches might be more effective having three general directions for ministries, while larger churches benefit from four. Remember, that in either case, every church needs another group of supportive ministries that provides for facilities, finances and leadership, both paid and unpaid.

Mission has been described by some as the purpose of an organization. I prefer to see mission as purposeful directions that clearly support movement toward the vision. But in addition, having three or four directions allows us to diversify and involve people with a variety of gifts. There are many ways to do this, but let me suggest a general model that might prove helpful.

Jesus answered the greatest commandment question by quoting the Shema, Love the Lord your God with all your mind, heart, strength and soul. I believe this recognizes that some prefer to love God with their mind or reason, others with their heart or compassion, others with their strength or actions, and yet others with their soul or spirituality. If a church organizes mission in four directions, then each of these preferences can be captured in a total picture.

Virginia, my wife, participated in a Bible study on the Shema years ago, during which we happened to see a production of the Wizard of Oz. She connected the four main characters of the show to the mind (scarecrow), heart (tin man), strength (lion) and soul (Dorothy) categories. She went on to discover the same diversity in the four Gospels and I would suggest the same diversity as the four Major Prophets. We now see the same diversity reflected in good literature, television shows and other works that stand the test of time.

Some argue that every church has the same mission, to make disciples for Jesus Christ. Gil Rendel and Alice Mann in their book, Holy Conversations, explain that this is an axiomatic mission statement but not a unique mission statement. This is like stating that restaurants cook and serve food, which is true across the board. But some restaurants serve seafood while others serve Italian or Asian or vegetarian dishes, marking them as set apart for those preferring such tastes.

Churches are unique as well, giving those who live in an area choices as to how they express their faith. While we often have axiomatic mission statements set by denominational leadership, we can and must also determine how those of us as Christians in a community have the unique gifts needed by God to meet a need where we live. If we all have the same mission, why has God allowed so many different churches to be in the same place? God values diversity and each church meets differing needs.

With an understanding of vision as God's call on a church and a clarification of mission as those directions we need to move in order to fulfill this calling, we can now turn to structure which determines how things get done. Keeping these tools sharp and available to the leaders of a church enables a faith community to be well on the way to implementing an effective ministry.