Last Sunday I preached on Covenant’s Vision Statement. This Sunday I will preach on Covenant’s Mission Statement. People often confuse or don’t understand the difference between them. A mission differs from a vision in that the mission is the cause and the vision is the effect. In other words, if we accomplished the mission, fulfillment of the vision is the results.
If we live into our Covenant Mission, where: “We exist to:
Celebrate the Love of God,
Cultivate a relationship with God,
Care about one another in Christ,
Communicate Christ to all people.”
We will see the fulfillment of our Covenant Vision:
“To be an inclusive community of faith –
Offering Hope + Showing Faithfulness + Sharing Joy.”
Covenant’s mission statement is a formal summary of our church’s aims and values. It serves as a filter helping us separate what is important, from what is not. Following the example of Jesus, it also communicates a sense of the intended direction for our congregation.
When Jesus began His public ministry, He made it very clear what His mission was in Luke 4:18-19. Reading from the scroll of Isaiah, Jesus publicly affirmed these words for His Mission, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” To make sure that those present understood this was indeed His mission, Jesus’ commentary on these verses was “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.”
Join us at Covenant this Sunday for baptism and reception of new members who are committing to help us fulfill our Covenant mission to make our Covenant vision become more of a reality. My sermon title is “The Mission: The Lord Has Anointed Us To …” based on “Luke 4:14-21.”
About Author
