One of the first things that the Media to Movements coaching team does is to help clients write their vision and mission statements. The purpose of writing these statements is so that the clients’ subsequent strategic choices in their ministry plan will be aligned with the vision the team wants to implement.
The primary difference between a vision statement and a mission statement is the timeframe each statement represents. A vision statement focuses on the future and is directional but not measurable, whereas a mission statement focuses on the present or near present and is measurable. A vision statement defines aspirations whereas a mission statement can serve as a roadmap of strategic planning to work toward the vision statement.
In the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People author Stephen Covey has an illustration of a team cutting a trail through the jungle. Work managers develop the plan where the trail should be, setting up the daily goals toward the plan, obtaining the right tools to accomplish the plan, and training the workers on the skills necessary to reach the mission of building a trail. The project leader suddenly climbs to the top of a tree and looks over the landscape. Then he calls out to the team, “Stop the work, we are heading in the wrong direction in the jungle.” The sheer number of “trees” has caused a mission drift from the project vision. Visionary leaders have the role of keeping the direction of the work clear in the leaders’ and workers’ minds though the vision statement.
The operative term here is “clear in the leader’s mind.” Several years ago, an organization asked me to review their church planting teams’ ministry plans. I looked at each of these team’s plans and observed that nearly every team surveyed had a ministry plan that had vision and mission statements. One key finding was that 44% of the teams acted upon their ministry plan and reported positive results toward their church planting vision. Conversely 56% of the teams had a plan but did not use their plan to guide their activities, and they self-reported activities that did not lead to a church planting outcome. There were good reasons for some teams not following their plans such as political instability, illnesses, and personal issues, but the variance was too large to say that the departure from the plan was entirely due to unexpected “conditions.” We found that the best intentions of teams were of no use if the leader did not maintain clarity of their vision that would have guided the team to implement mission plans to reach that vision.
How does one maintain vision clarity? I think Mark 1:32-38 can provide a guideline. Jesus was in the town where Simon was from and was ministering to many people who had demons and needed healing, working late into the night. After the very busy night, Jesus then went to a solitary place to pray. In the morning the crowds and the disciples came to Jesus saying, “Everyone is looking for you.” But he announced to his disciples that they needed to move to nearby villages to preach there, “because that is why I have come.” Jesus was in his jungle of an active ministry, but through prayer he was reminded of his purpose. Clarity of vision and prayer go together.
In a later blog we will return to this important concept of prayer in our work.
In the last three blogs, I hoped to instill these foundational concepts:
- There are at least 2 ½% of your UPG that is open for religious change.
- Most visionary plans are quite expansive. To reach your vision, you will need to think about each step of the process with the question; “how will this activity lead to a generational outcome?”
- Keep your vision clear in your thinking. Mission statements, goals, tools, and roles all emerge from the vision. A clear vision statement and prayer are deeply intertwined.
