Unit 5. Examples: Mission and Vision Statements

The Saddleback Vision*
From Pastor Rick Warren’s first sermon, March 30, 1980

It is the dream of a place where the hurting, the depressed, the frustrated, and the confused can find love, acceptance, help, hope, forgiveness, guidance, and encouragement.
It is the dream of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with the hundreds of thousands of residents in south Orange County,
It is the dream of welcoming 20,000 members into the fellowship of our church family-loving, learning, laughing, and living in harmony together.
It is the dream of developing people to spiritual maturity through Bible studies, small groups, seminars, retreats, and a Bible school for our members.
It is the dream of equipping every believer for a significant ministry by helping them discover the gifts and talents God gave them. It is the dream of sending out hundreds of career missionaries and church workers all around the world, and empowering every member for a personal life mission in the world. It is the dream of sending our members by the thousands on short-term mission projects to every continent. It is the dream of starting at least one new daughter church every year.
It is the dream of at least fifty acres of land, on which will be built a regional church for south Orange County–with beautiful, yet simple, facilities including a worship center seating thousands, a counseling and prayer center, classrooms for Bible studies and training lay ministers, and a recreation area. All of this will be designed to minister to the total person — spiritually, emotionally, physically, and socially — and set in a peaceful, inspiring garden landscape.

I stand before you today and state in confident assurance that these
dreams will become reality. Why? Because they are inspired by God!

Germantown Baptist Church – Germantown, Tennessee
Mission Statement: Our mission is to lead all people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
Vision Statement: Our vision is to encourage all people to experience God in a loving and forgiving environment and to grow to their full potential in Christ through worship and relationships. Throughout the community and the world, we will reach out to witness, teach, develop, and minister with the good news of Jesus Christ.

First Baptist Church – Nashville, Tennessee
Vision Statement: A vision to intersect and infold lives with the love and life of Jesus Christ in Metropolitan Nashville and around the world. (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8)
Purpose Statement: We proclaim Christ, the hope of glory nurturing and teaching every individual in all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ Jesus. (Colossians 1:28)
Mission Statement: A mission to:

• experience biblical worship
• equip and involve faithful witnesses in evangelism
• develop mature disciples
• cultivate meaningful fellowship
• encourage effective ministry

Canterbury Cathedral – Canterbury, Kent, England
Mission Statement: The mission of the Canterbury Cathedral is to encourage a living faith in God by interpreting the Christian gospel through the Cathedral building itself, its history its saints, its worship, preaching, and teaching, and through its work in the wider community.

Central Baptist Church of Fountain City – knoxville, Tennessee
Mission Statement: We the members of Central Baptist Church having been called out of the world, led by the Holy Spirit, and baptized into the Body of Christ, are committed to a fellowship of:
Worshipping People, glorifying God through praise, prayer, and thanksgiving;
Witnessing People, seeking to win the lost, to develop believers, and to develop and train leaders;
Ministering People, demonstrating Christ’s love and sharing of the gospel of Christ here and throughout the world.

Wieuca Road Baptist Church – Atlanta, Georgia
Vision Statement: The vision for Wieuca Road for the next five years is:

• to reach more people for Christ
• to reach the seemingly unreachable
• to develop a ministry which bridges the gap between urban and suburban challenges
• to be a high commitment church
• to be a “full-service” church

Gladeville Baptist Church – Gladeville, Tennessee
Mission Statement: To do those things which bring honor to God and accomplish His purposes in our world today.
Vision Statement: To be a loving fellowship of Christians serving God and witnessing to our world of the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

First Baptist Church – Atlanta, Georgia
Mission Statement: Our mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Willow Creek Community Church – Chicago, Illinois
Mission Statement: Our mission is to turn irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. (What we’re doing)
Vision Statement: Our vision is to be a biblically functioning community of believers so that Christ’s redemptive purposes can be accomplished in the world. (What we’re becoming)

Burton Parish Church – Williamsburg, Virginia
Mission Statement: The mission of the people of Burton Parish is…as it has been for 300 years…to respond to God’s call to be channels of His love and power within our community and the world by:
Worshipping – “Worship the Father in spirit and in truth…” John 4:23
Caring – “Come to me…and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
Growing – “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” Luke 2:52
Sharing – “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35

The Belmont Church – Nashville, Tennessee
Mission Statement: The Belmont Church exists to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ, rejoicing in Him as we bring believers to maturity, draw people to Jesus, equip them to serve, and become a reconciling force in the body of Christ.

First Baptist Church – Herndon, Virginia
Values: Our church values doing outreach, mission support, relationships, Baptist doctrine, Bible study, prayer, growing and developing believers.
Mission Statement: First Baptist of Herndon is a caring family of faith in the heritage of cooperative Baptists, located in the heart of Herndon. Our purpose is to regularly worship God, to innovatively enlist and develop followers of Christ, to learn and apply His teachings, to lovingly care for persons in need, and to support and participate in local and global missions.

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