Arts Identity & Mission Statements

Do you have a target for your arts ministry? Sometimes we think of mission statements as that crusty old saying that people in the church can't remember and don't implement. If this is the case, then no wonder we would steer clear of creating one for our arts ministry. But if you understand your mission statement as a target that aligns decision making, perhaps you'll get on board with taking the time to develop a mission that serves your ministry.

A mission statement answers for you and everyone involved with your ministry these basic questions:

• What?
• How?
• Why?

It tells you where to focus and acts as a decision making matrix for your ministry.

Check out this arts ministry mission statement from one of the teams I worked with:

• Our arts ministry mission is to become God-inspired servants facilitating heart transformation.

What do you read in this statement? Hopefully you see we were about developing ourselves creatively (God-inspired), spiritually (becoming servants) and transformationally (facilitating heart transformation). Our focus was on creating a healthy team of people who were being transformed so they could bring transformation to others. This statement guided our decisions, helping us set targets for creativity, spiritual growth and task-related teamwork and transformation. And as we embodied the mission, we grew together in unity and toward increasing levels of impact.

Do you have an arts ministry mission statement? Are you using it to guide and direct your ministry decision?