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What is your mission as a church?

Vern Heidebrecht

During the construction of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, Sir Christopher Wren, the architect, was walking among the stonemasons. He asked one of them, “What are you doing?” The response was, “I’m trying to get this stupid rock to fit into that hole way up in that tower.” As Wren continued his walk, he asked the same question of a second workman. The response was, “I am helping to build a cathedral in which God will be worshipped!” They were both doing the same work, but they had a different mission and vision.

If you were asked to write down what the mission of your church is, what would you write? Or, making it even more personal, what is the overarching mission in your own life?

Mother Teresa’s mission was to show mercy and compassion to the dying. Nehemiah’s mission was to build the walls of Jerusalem. Martin Luther King once said, “If we don’t have a cause to die for, we don’t have a good reason for which to live.”

During the Second World War, an unidentified soldier appeared in the dark and was asked what his mission was. He was unable to explain it, and as a result was shot on the spot! That is an exacting test.

In Luke 19:1-10 Jesus met Zacchaeus, entered his home and brought a total transformation to a man who had missed the mark in terms of God’s will. When His actions brought criticism from the religious leaders of that day, this became the occasion for Him to state His mission with precision: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). What could be clearer?

I recall taking a flight to Kansas to speak at a conference. I engaged in conversation with a doctor who was sitting next to me. After asking him a few questions about his employment and vacation plans, I inquired about his relationship with the church. He responded that he was a participant in a growing Catholic church. I was encouraged with his response and asked what his relationship was with Jesus Christ. He was unable to give a clear answer. I tried to clarify the gospel for him, but there was a negative response. So, I committed the situation to the Lord and decided to take a nap.

A few minutes later, the plane hit an air pocket and was bounced about rather severely. I was sitting in the front row with my new friend, and two flight attendants came and sat in the seats in front of us, facing us. On a whim, I asked one of the flight attendants where she was from. She replied, “Chicago.” I took another risk and asked, “Do you by any chance attend Willow Creek Church, where Bill Hybels pastors?” Not only was she attending Willow Creek, but she was a Catholic who had recently come to a personal faith in Christ, together with her husband. With great enthusiasm, she began telling us what it meant to have a personal relationship with Christ and the changes that had taken place in her life.

My doctor friend looked at me as if I had set up this encounter. The flight attendant said things that I would never have been able to say with the same passion and clarity. I understood again that Jesus’ passion is “to seek and to save what was lost”.

A mission statement

A mission statement is powerful when it is short, can be remembered by a 12-year-old and captivates us so deeply that we put it into action. The greater the mission, the more simply it can be stated.

A mission statement explains, “Why do we exist?” It is connected to faith and represents our firm belief in the mission God has given us. It is also related to two other concepts, “core values” and “distant markers” (that is, our purpose or ultimate goals). Core values answer “How do we do our ministry?” (love), and distant markers respond to “What will it look like when we get there?” (hope). For example, my wife and I planted over a hundred flower bulbs in our yard last fall. The mission was to plant bulbs. The core value was to plant them in the right places, with the right type of soil and fertilizer around them. The purpose was that this coming spring we would have a wonderful garden of tulips and daffodils.

Writing a mission statement

Writing a mission statement is an exciting and demanding responsibility. What we did at Northview Community Church was to first focus on what a mission statement was. Then I preached a series of messages on key texts that speak about mission in the church, “The Great Commandment”, “The Great Commission”, Ephesians 4, Philippians 3 and selected portions of the teachings of Jesus. Our goal was to capture the idea that everything God did was driven by mission.

We also discovered that, just as each believer is unique in gifting and calling, so each church is unique in gifting and calling. We ended up with this mission statement for Northview: “Leading people to passionately follow Jesus.” This included the concept of spiritual leadership; the passion of loving God with all our heart, mind, soul and spirit; and the call, which is repeated in the Gospels again and again to, “follow Jesus”.

The mission statement of the Willow Creek Church in Chicago is, “Our mission is to turn irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Christ.” This mission has shaped their style of worship and their seeker-driven weekend services.

How does a mission statement empower a church?

IT BUILDS FAITH

The writer of Hebrews says that faith “is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see” (Hebrews 11:1, New Living Translation). A mission statement helps us to see, by faith, things that cannot be seen yet. God motivates us with such a vision.

To Jeremiah, God said, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

To us, God has given the greatest motivation of all: Heaven is waiting for us!

It is important to realize that programs do not motivate, but purposes do. Dynamic programs flow out of clear purpose. It is also true that purposes continue and programs change!

IT REDUCES FRUSTRATION

The apostle Paul said, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13). A major problem in churches is that we have friction because we have different mission focuses in mind. A clearly defined mission makes decisions easier. If everyone is rowing the boat in the same direction, no one will have time to rock the boat!

IT DEVELOPS CONCENTRATION

Nehemiah was a man with a clear mission. His goal was to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and to restore the honour of God in that holy city. Many tried to distract him from the task, but his response was, “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down” (Nehemiah 6:3). That is a sign of a man who understood his mission.

I am told that the amount of electrical energy required to light up a 40-watt bulb can also power a laser that is able to cut through a six-inch piece of plate steel. That is power; that is concentrated energy.

A church can be efficient but not necessarily effective. Everything can be running smoothly, but no worthy mission may be accomplished. Don’t you sometimes feel that we as churches are simply rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic rather than navigating the ship across the ocean?

IT ATTRACTS COOPERATION

The apostle Paul said to the Philippian Christians: “Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose” (Philippians 2:2). People are drawn to work and cooperate with one another when the mission is clear and the project is worthy.

So often we get the feeling that our main mission as the church is to just have another week of services, preach another sermon and sing another hymn or two. But where are we going? Where is the majesty and the call of the gospel? Are we playing church, or are we applying ourselves to mission?

IT DEVELOPS SACRIFICE

The apostle Paul gave this testimony of the Macedonian churches: “They gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints” (II Corinthians 8:3-4).

A friend of mine told of a potential donor coming to the campus of Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C. He was undecided whether he should make a large contribution to the school or not. He decided to engage in conversation with an individual on staff whose job it was to cut the lawns. He asked this individual what the purpose of the university was. The reply was, “To develop godly Christian leaders, university graduates who are capably trained to effectively serve God and man in the marketplace.” Without hesitation, the groundskeeper had clearly stated the mission of this Christian university. The potential donor was so impressed that he wrote out a sizable cheque for the institution.

There are needs all about us; they are never ending. But people give to vision before they give to need.

IT BUILDS A DYNAMIC PERSONAL FAITH

Think of how central faith is in our life. We come to Christ by faith. It is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6).

An excellent definition of faith is, “Faith is taking risks for the glory of God.” The missionary statesman Hudson Taylor once said, “ Unless there is an element of risk in our exploits for God, there is no need for faith.”

Hebrews 11 is a “hall of fame” of people of faith. By faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, shut the mouths of lions, became powerful and had their weaknesses turned into strengths.

Are we modern risk takers? When the first missionaries went to Liberia, Africa, they didn’t bring their belongings in crates or trunks; rather, they brought them in coffins. They were deeply aware of the fact that going to Liberia would probably cost them their lives. They would be buried in that foreign land rather than come home. Like the Old Testament persons of faith, they brought the truth of God into a darkened culture and made it known that there is a God who has a claim on our lives and culture.

What is your mission?

Research shows that a 65-year-old person has on average spent 23 years sleeping, 17 years working, 11 years playing and watching TV, 6 years travelling, 6 years eating, 2 years dressing and 6 months at stoplights. It is possible to live a totally unfocussed life. Mission helps focus our activities.

Does your mission bring you to a “must trust” situation? Do you find yourself taking on a mission which, if God doesn’t step in, you won’t even have a chance of achieving?

Ask yourself: Why does our church exist? To carry on religious services? To run better programs? Or to pray with Jesus, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”?

Vern Heidebrecht is senior pastor of Northview Community Church in Abbotsford, B.C. This article is based on a message he preached at an Evangelical Mennonite Conference convention in July 1999 and has been previously published in the EMC publication The Messenger.

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Last modified May 4, 2000.

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