What is a Mission Statement and Why Does it Matter?
Good question! A quick tour through a handful of dictionary definitions1 for mission reveals three common threads:
- A defined task assigned to a group of people or an individual
- Calling or vocation; with strong conviction
- Often a religious or military impetus, involving travel to foreign lands.
A mission statement, therefore, should communicate a defined task which flows out of strong convictions. And while once used mostly for religious and military missions, it’s now an well-established component of every organization’s strategic plan. The mission of Nimbus Christian Education (NCE) is to be “a response to God’s call to raise up our children to know him anytime, any-pace, any-space, in every area of life.”
Do mission statements like these make a difference? To their customers? To their employees? To their financial statements? To their organizational culture? Do they actually result in a group of people with a common calling working towards a common goal? Short answer: Sometimes. Achievement of an organization’s mission requires that its leadership be intentionally integrating it into every decision. How will this hire, this product, this proposal, this partnership, this meeting contribute to the furthering of our shared mission?NCE is deeply devoted to this intentional integration of mission. At the heart of NCE’s mission is a belief in God- the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In grateful response to the goodness of God, NCE seeks to provide a high-quality education founded on and shaped by the pursuit of knowing God- His character, His creation and His calling, as individuals and a body. All truth is God’s Truth and the curriculum and teachers at NCE desire to reveal that Truth, so that together we might experience the ‘abundant life’ He came to make possible (John 10:10), whenever and wherever we are, whatever we are doing. To God be the glory.
Stay tuned to learn about the “anytime, any-pace, any-space” of NCE’s mission in What is a Mission Statement and Why Does it Matter: Part Two. Coming soon!
1 Merriam Webster, Dictionary.com, Collins Dictionary
