Mission Statement

Big churches need bold mission statements.

Small churches? Not so much.

If a small church has a mission statement, it’s probably because a church growth expert said you needed one. But it’s unlikely that having a mission statement has changed anything for the church, and today it’s hard to find anyone who can recite it from memory.

This is not because small churches are broken or lazy. It’s not because there’s anything wrong about churches of any size – or mission statements. It has more to do with the fact that big churches and small churches operate under entirely different sets of presumptions.

Big churches need clear mission statements, regularly repeated, taught and reinforced because the pastor or a pastoral representative cannot be physically present at most events or ministries.