Adding A Third Leg-An Idea For Mission Strategizing

Milk stools are stable because they have three legs; they are self-leveling, unlike a four legged stool or a two legged stool ... Mission must have three legs, too, if it is to be effective and faithful among us. We need:

A Mission Statement – as to who we are and what we are about. These should be short, such as "Making Christ Known."
Core Values – the trouble with mission statements alone is that those who adopt them don't always act on them. This is because they were not congruent with the congregation's core values. A congregation won't be willing to "make Christ known" if one of its core values is, "We like being the size we are."
A Gospel Summary – Every congregation should have a summary statement of the Gospel around which they have gathered or can gather. In the old days, this might have been "Jesus Saves" - like the church whose neon sign I could see from my grandparents spare bedroom.

Three Reasons why Gospel Summaries are important...

They are empowering because they are Gospel. Mission statements and even core values have to arise out of something. That something is either Law/obligation, or Gospel/promises. Saying "Jesus Saves" empowers one to reach out and welcome in the stranger, because Jesus died for that person, just as he has saved me...
They are provocative/evocative. In Luther League days, our Gospel Motto was, "In Christ We Are..." This led the older people (our parents) to challenge us as to what this meant. "In Christ we are what?" they'd ask. The statement wasn't finished; it was somewhat open ended. This gave us the opportunity to ask questions or to suggest answers... We came up with things like this: In Christ we are One, In Christ we are forgiven, In Christ we are set free, In Christ we have LIFE... Such a statement begs to be completed and it is nearly always done so in a way that provokes more thought, more discussion, more faith.
They are spring boards for faithfulness - including outreach. At Peace, Bowling Green, their Gospel Motto is: "Christ Makes a Difference." To those outside the congregation, this causes a host of questions: Can Christ make a difference for me too? How does Christ make a difference? But for those inside the congregation, such a statement begs to become the basis for everything the congregation does: e.g. Christ makes a difference in our stewardship, or in our care for the earth. Christ makes a difference in our reaching out and welcoming in. Christ makes a difference between spouses, and so on. There could be a theme for tens of years based on all the areas of faithful life where Christ makes a difference!

Sample Gospel Mottos
What would you use for your personal Gospel Motto? What is that nugget of the Gospel that is dearest to you, that gives your life its centering principle? What is the Good News that you hold most dear? If you put that into words what would it be? In Christ We Are...? Christ Makes a Difference. Baptized We Live...? Forgiven For...? Jesus Means Freedom...? Saved to Serve...? Saved by God's Grace...?

As you continue to strategize for mission in your congregation and for your own life, why not let the Gospel give balance to your efforts? Don't forget the third leg of the mission stool.