I wrote this post to be fun and challenging. By "functional mission statement," I mean the unstated ideal that really drives the empowered leadership of the church. I work with all types of churches including all of the ones below. So I want to state up front that this blog post is an equal opportunity offender!- Community / Seeker / Multisite churches
- External Focus / Missional churches
- Mainline / Liturgical churches
- Church plants / Home churches
- Reformed / Gospel-centered churches
- Charismatic / Spirit-filled churches
Which one of these most characterizes your church culture?
#1 Our mission is to grow worship service attendance by attracting the "have-it-together" people in our community who will then invite other "have-it-together" people in our community.
#2 Our mission is to talk about the glory and pleasure of God so much that no one will doubt that our highest motive is the glory and pleasure of God.
#3 Our mission is to have over 100 people in our worship service who will give enough that the pastor can feed his kids.
#4 Our mission is to have the most and most highly visible service projects in our community.
#5 Our mission is to be ready for 1950 in case that decade rolls around again.
#6 Our mission is to have a children's ministry that will attract young families who want the best for their kids.
#7 Our mission is never-ending, double-digit, transfer growth in our relevant worship services by franchising our church across our region.
#8 Our mission is to be the only genuine church in our city because we don't need church buildings and refuse to let our children be influenced by the public school system.
#9 Our mission is to build a platform for our incredibly gifted pastor so he will never want to leave and we can keep enjoying his gifting.
#10 Our mission is to feel good that we are Spirit-filled and to help others feel good through our Spirit-filled worship services where God's presence feels good.
#11 Our mission is to have a gospel-centered mission statement that will help a gospel-centered people do anything we want as long as it is gospel-centered.
#12 Our mission is to keep the elders happy, bills paid and staff employed.
Okay, now its your turn. What other ideas do these 12 spark for you? How would you poke fun of your own church? Help me create a list of 25!
What functional mission statements am I missing? Use hashtag #missionfun.