Surfing the Inner N8

Insights & Outsights from a Guy Trying to Follow Jesus

Mission, Vision, and Strategy at CrossWay Church

After months of praying about things like church vision, mission, and strategy for CrossWay, it finally started becoming clear when it came time to preach on it recently.

These things can easily be forced if some church people simply decide to make up some cute-sounding stuff. But then it’s not from the heart of the church and will not drive the ministry. We’ve been praying and studying and seeking and working for a long time to discover God’s vision, mission, and strategy for CrossWay, and the past few weeks it’s started taking shape.

First, a little clarification on these terms:

  • Mission is what a church aims to accomplish.
  • Vision is a snapshot of what it will look like when the mission is accomplished.
  • Strategy is what a church will do to accomplish the mission.

The mission for every Christian church is the same, though it’s worded differently from one church to another. Simply put, the mission is to make lifelong followers of Jesus Christ in our community and around the world.

At CrossWay, our strategy is simple: love God & love people. We do these things in five ways:

  • We love God by worshiping Him together.
  • We love God by individually practicing certain spiritual habits, such as Bible study and prayer.
  • We love people by using our gifts & passions to serve them.
  • We love people by participating in a small community of believers.
  • We love God & people by inviting others to do these first four things with us.

The vision is still not crystal clear, but it’s definitely taking shape. We’re doing a five-week series called “The Promised Land” starting in January which will explore all of these elements. I’m sure the vision will be clear by then, and we’ll spend those five weeks casting the vision.

I can’t wait!

Posted by:

Nathan Hyde

I’m a Christ follower in Ocean Pines, Maryland. After God, my wife, and daughter, my favorite things are my students, Mexican food, reading, and Orioles baseball.

2 responses to “Mission, Vision, and Strategy at CrossWay Church”

  1. Terry K. Moore

    Just thought I would throw this your way. It seemed like it was along the lines of what you’re thinking. This is some of the stuff I’ve put together for when I begin training at the church I’ll be going to in Jan.

    Strategies answers the how question. How will we accomplish this? How will we fulfill our purpose? How will we accomplish the vision? How will we move forward?

    Before a strategy can be formed a vision must be developed. The vision answers the question of where. Where are we going? Where will we end up? What is our destiny?

    Before a vision can be developed passion must exist. Passion answers the why question. Why am I doing this? Why is this important? Why does this matter? Why is this worth the effort?

    Before the passion can be developed the purpose must exist. Purpose answers the question of what. What am I to be? What is my calling? What is my place? What is my role?

    If we address the issue of strategy before addressing the issue of vision, passion, and purpose we will end up with a church and leaders that will struggle with confusion, complacency, and conflict.

  2. Nathan Hyde

    Hey Terry, great insights. I started to reply with a comment, but decided to write a post instead.

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