Fighting Mission Creep
Left to its own devices, any organization whether for profit or non-profit, will drift off its center line of mission. There are instances where that drift is ultimately positive because of advancements in the industry, or changes in the market. A business must consistently respond to the technological advancements taking place around them. In these cases the mission might need to be updated, or tweaked, to match the course change taking place in the market. Similarly, many non-profits such as charities, parachurch organizations, and schools may make adjustments to mission. In contrast, a church cannot reimagine the mission of the organization, or at least shouldn’t. The overarching mission of the church, in reality that should be follower of Christ, is to make disciples. It is the direct call of Jesus in His final moments on the earth before ascending back to be with the Father.
Go and make disciples…
The mission of the church doesn’t change. It is the “why” of the church. The vision is the “how.” Vision gives the feet to the accomplishment of the mission. Churches see mission creep, which is inevitable, because the vision is weak, stalled out, or ignored. Mission creep, or drift, is a constant. Mission creep is the slow and steady move away from your core purpose/vision by adding additional non-essential elements to the organization. When vision falters the church will steadily move off the centerline of God’s Kingdom. Fighting mission creep, which is really a practice in visioneering, is an ongoing need in any organization, but especially the church. It isn’t enough to just “believe the Bible.” There are intentional things you can do to prevent mission creep.
A Clear Simple Vision
The vision does not need to be a paragraph. Might not even need to be a complete sentence. Don’t name all the core values in it. Just don’t. The vision must be clear. And it must be simple. A new person walking into the church should be able to easily grasp what it is stated in the vision. The more you find yourself having to explain what the vision means to people the less simple it is. Out of the vision grow certain core priorities that guide you in practice for a season. If the vision is not fleshed out as to what it means it will be open to all sorts of agendas and interpretations of things. These things will push and pull against what it is meant to be and cause a lack of focus amongst the people. It develops a lack of foundation and eventually leads to collapse.
Regularly evaluate each program in relation to that vision
Evaluation is never something of which to be afraid. And this does not mean an endless constant evaluation. At minimum, your organization should review the ongoing programs, calendaring, and future plans together as a group and ask whether each ministry is congruent with the vision and mission. And take it even further. Ask and define what success looks like for that program next year when you come back together to evaluate the programs. Far too many churches die a slow death of overprogramming and under funded budgets because money is tied up in all sorts of non-functional programs. Take time to look at whether things are staying aligned with the vision and current any creep that has taken place.
Define a matrix tool to evaluate new programs
There needs to be something that gives parameters for you to determine whether a possible new program fits within in the vision. Doesn’t need to be complicated but you need something that will help determine feasibility. It should include what part of the vision it fits within, how much it will cost annually to sustain, what segment of the congregation it most likely reaches, and what sort of promotional time it should garner. This matrix should not be shared outside of the individual staff utilizing it to evaluate possible programs. Just don’t do it.
Reorient creeped programs or cut them
A part of this feels kind of heartless. But it is necessary. Unaligned programs that are sucking money from the budget should be stopped if they cannot be reorientated to the vision. This step is not a call to scrap everything, but to look and think seriously about how the program helps accomplish the mission. Maybe a pottery class would be better done at the local community center where the congregation members would be mixed in with non-believers? It’s crazy to think that way, but isn’t that the mission of the church?
Build partnerships and send people
This segment is a bigger topic and likely its own article discussion. But what if you stopped doing so much? What if you built relationships with parachurch organizations in the community that are already seeking to meet the needs of the community and are doing it better than you can? What if you gave a higher percentage of your budget away to these organizations and then sent your people there to volunteer? What if instead of getting mad at travel sports you commissioned your parents to go and be the light at the ball field, or court? What if instead of hosting pottery classes, rec ministries, reading clubs, or any other host of community activity you sent your people to the community center, the YMCA, or the neighborhood to do the same things?
Churches die out every day because they got so busy doing things at the building that they lost track of the very mission of God given to them. Any way that you slice it, mission creeps away and the vision is lost. It is just as heart breaking to see the church that has lost its direction and doesn’t know it, or won’t acknowledge it. The lack of vision leaves it listless, rocking in the waves and tossed around by the wind. Make intentional times to look at the alignment of practice and belief in your church to prevent burn out happening.