September 15, 2007

Mission, Vision, Purpose

Let's check the viability of these for your women's group.

Personally, I don't get hung up on a women's ministry in a local church having to have a mission statement, whether it is a mission, vision, or purpose statement. They all basically mean the same thing.

Your mission and purpose should be entwined with the vision for the women's ministry of your church and a church's makeup and growth changes over time, and so should your vision for each ministry along with that.

Ministry or vision statements that are set in stone I kind of have a problem with because I think it kind of puts you in a box, unless you make it a broad statement to include a lot of different facets.

Making it for the Long Term

I know churches whose women's ministry vision statements only include areas of mission outreach and neglect the changing face of women in our local churches today.

They don't work on other areas with their women because they don't feel it's their job or purpose through their women's ministry. However, women today need more than having an area to work on charitable projects such as mission outreach.

There are a variety of issues and areas of need for women today that we should be focusing on as a women's ministry, so it's up to you and your church if you feel you need a mission or vision statement to reflect that.

Don't Allow it to be a Hang-Up

Frankly, I know a vision statement looks good in the pages of a brochure for your women's ministry or on the women's ministry page of your church website. I just really don't think that they are a must.

Some ladies write to me and are worried that they don't have one and they've heard they just have to have one for their women's ministry to be viable.

If you are doing your best as a women's ministry leader, you are going to be setting goals and a vision and really evaluating what the women in your church need in ways of programs, opportunities for service, and everything else entailed in women's ministry. So, I just feel you shouldn't get hung up on the issue of a women's ministry "vision" statement.

Sometimes They Can be Helpful

Let me say, that sometimes they are very helpful if you haven't had any type of structured women's ministry in your church and you have to stop and say, okay, here's the direction we want to go with our women's ministry.

I can see that it may be useful from that angle so dig around and read other mission statements from churches online. Find out what direction your group wants to head. Get all your ideas together in order to come up with a good plan for a statement for your women's ministry.

Make it Short and Sweet

Mission statements can be several sentences long, a brief statement, or even just a bible verse. What they are not are long paragraphs or manifestos. Keep it short and sweet.

Copyright ©2007 Julia Bettencourt

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