Transcript Vision, Mission and Money Some quotes….

Vision, Mission and Money
The Key to Stewardship….
Introduction
– We will talk about what a VISION OF
MISSION is in our time together today. We
will also talk about the fact that a congregation
begins to be involved in good stewardship
when it balances a budget that addresses
mission.
– We will not tell you today how to run your
annual campaign…..but you may pick up some
helpful hints….
Some quotes….
 "The miracle is this ... the more we
share, the more we have." -- Leonard
Nimoy
 If we are to use anything as the gift of
God, we are to use everything as God's
gift. William Law
Some more quotes….
 "Where your treasure is, there will your
heart be also." --Gospel according to
Luke 12:34
 "We make a living by what we get, but
we make a life by what we give." -Winston Churchill
Even More quotes….
 "The duty of all Christians is to follow
Christ, to come together week by week
for corporate worship; and to work, pray
and give for the spread of the kingdom
of God." -- Book of Common prayer,
page 856
And the Last Quote…
“What a man loves with all his heart and
soul and might, this for him is God”
-- Origen
Non-inclusive language not withstanding, this is all
too true.
It is especially true when we are dealing with money.
It’s now time to turn this around…….
What Stewardship is NOT:
 Stewardship is not about giving money to
meet a budget
 Stewardship is not “fund raising”.
What Stewardship IS:
 Stewardship is what we do after we say “I
believe….”
 Stewardship is living into a VISION OF
MINISTRY in a concrete way.
 Stewardship is the main work of the church.
 Stewardship is the way we use all our
resources, including our time, talent and
treasure, to continue Christ’s work of
reconciliation in the world.
What is Mission?
 Mission is what God calls us to do.
 If mission is what God calls us to do, ministry
is a way of answering that call. Our ministry
is the particular way we respond to God’s call.
 Each person’s particular personality,
background and circumstance influences his
or her ministry. This is also true for the
ministry of the local congregation.
Four Sources for Understanding
Mission
 Scripture
 Reason
 Tradition
 Personal Faith
Scripture
 The bible is the central document of the
Church.
 We find in scripture the call of God to
the people of God throughout the Old
and New Testaments, including:
– The call to love (John 15:12)
– The call to service (Matthew 25:37-39)
– The call to discipleship (Matthew 28:6-20)
Reason
 Reason enables us to understand and test
our perception of God’s will.
 By reason we apply eternal truths to today’s
times.
 By reason we determine how to respond to
God’s will today.
 Reason makes a most valuable contribution
when it prevents us from an unquestioning
obedience to “how we have always done
things,” or to authority figures, or to popular
sentiment, or even to our own prejudices.
Tradition
 The tradition of the Church is embodied in the
historical record of Church practices and
teachings.
 Church tradition provides many
understandings for the mission of the church.
 The Book of Common Prayer and the Hymnal
are great sources of our tradition’s
understanding of the mission of the Church.
Personal Faith
 Our relationship with our living Lord
Jesus Christ is our fourth resource.
 The key to this resource is in private
devotions as well as corporate worship.
 It is especially because of this resource
that we should always be asking people
to prayerfully consider the gifts that they
have been given, and their response to
those gifts!
The Vision Statement
 "Where there is no vision the people perish."
Book of Proverbs (29:18).
 "Worse than being blind would be to be able
to see but not have any vision." --Helen Keller
 A Church’s vision statement is the “BEING”
statement for the Church. What are we called
to BE?
 The best vision statements are short and
catchy, thereby easy to remember.
– “We are called to be fed as we feed”
The Mission Statement
 Once we develop the vision statement, the
mission statement can be developed.
– Some congregations prefer to have just one
statement – that’s fine as well.
 The mission statement is an answer to the
question: “What is Christ calling this
community of faith in our diocese to DO
now?”
Why have a Mission Statement?
 Everyone benefits when the congregation
has articulated a clear vision of its mission
in the form of a mission statement.
 The clergy, vestry and general membership
then become partners in discipleship and
leadership.
 The mission statement is a tool to use in
evaluating congregational activities.
Mission Statement How To….
 Develop your mission statement in a group
with group consensus.
– There are different methods of doing
this….from the complex to the simple. Choose
the one that’s right for you.
 Make sure your mission statement is
included on EVERYTHING you publish in
your parish…bulletin, newsletters, etc.
Mission Statement Ideas
 You may want to tie your mission statement
to the Mission Statement of the Diocese.
 Check out other church’s mission
statements for ideas.
 You want to make the statement specific
enough to have people understand what it is
you as a parish or organization consider
yourselves called to DO.
Mission Statement of the
Diocese of Los Angeles
The ministries of the Diocese of Los Angeles are informed by the following
mission statement, which was adopted by Diocesan Convention 1998:
Joined in prayer and worship, we are communities of
disciples of Jesus uplifted by our calling of God's
reign of justice, peace and love.
Rejoicing in our region's diversity, we will be God's
pentecost people, inviting and welcoming and
seeking to build congregations of service by being
wise and enlightened in our faith and ministering
with all our youth.
Mission Statement of the
National Church
 The mission of the whole church is to seek and serve
Christ in others, and we do that by teaching, working,
and living our lives according to our beliefs. The
mission of the Episcopal Church is to follow this plan
in keeping with our tradition, and also to live in
cooperation and harmony with every other christian
church as we do so. We do this by participating in the
World Council of Churches and the National Council
of Churches, and by participating in the ecumenical
movement with our brothers and sisters of different
churches and with seeking understanding with people
of all the world's other faiths.
What to do now…
 Once the Vision and Mission Statements, or
simply the Mission Statement has been
developed…….
 Use it!
 The ministries of the parish should be
reviewed in light of your vision and/or
mission statements – but especially in light
of your mission statement.
Mission and Ministry
 Mission Statement: Follow Christ through the way we live and
love, spreading the good news of God in Christ, opening our
hearts to all, and experience/spread joy in the process.


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
Outreach: Spreading the good news that St. Clement’s is here to assist the
community to be more Christ-like through service.
Buildings and Grounds: Available to help in a loving way to whatever comes
up – an example of cooperation.
Finance: How money is dispersed – look at people in parish and community
and their needs – integrity in use of funds – openness in communication and
reporting.
Christian Education :To learn and to teach in order to better understand God in
Christ and to expand ourselves to spread the good news.
Youth: Having a reliable youth program in which the youth of St. Clement’s can
come together to learn about and serve God
.
Review the Current Budget……
 Evaluate all current expenses in light of the
mission statement.
 How is the mission statement served by
line-items in the current budget?
 Involve many people, especially the people
that have responsibility for ministry areas to
critique their portion of the budget and
invite their input.
More on the Current Budget
 The process may call for redefining job
descriptions.
 Participants in the process should challenge
programming that does not seem to
contribute to mission.
 Make sure to evaluate volunteer ministries
as well. How are the gifts of time and talent
used to further the mission statement?
Devising an Action Plan
 After using the mission statement to evaluate the
current budget, it’s time to devise an action plan
for the coming year.
 Organize the action plan into mission categories
such as service, worship, education, evangelism
and pastoral care.
 Set priorities for mission, giving a brief rationale.
 Make sure you address how each program or
ministry area addresses the mission statement.
More on the Action Plan
 The action plan is the document which canvassers
can take with them when they visit parishioners
during the annual pledge drive.
 Canvassers can show what the congregation’s
vision of mission is, and how time, talent and
treasure will be used.
 This outline of the mission and ministries of the
congregation can inform all members (new and
long-time members) about programs and
ministries to which to contribute time and talents.
The Annual Canvass
 The focus of the annual canvass must be
people, not budget.
 Once the results of the canvass are in, the
vestry will then work to draw up the new
budget, based on:
– the action plan for the coming year,
– the financial support pledged, and
– the commitments of time and talents pledged to
the various programs and ministries.
Organizing the New Budget
 Once the action plan is in place, it serves as
the reason for the new budget figures.
 The advantage of the action plan is that the
budget shows which ministries require, or
have been requiring, what resources.
 The action plan and new budget paint a
clearer picture for the congregation of how
the offerings of the congregation carry out
the mission of the parish.
Budget Stuff….
Account Name
Year 2000
"Actual"
Thru 9/30/00
Church School Director Salary
Church Youth Director Salary
Church School Expenses
Youth Activities Expenses
Nursery Care/Babysitting
Nursery Care/Babysitting Offset
0
0
650.00
50.00
265.00
-
848
50
600
0
900
100
400
0
965.00
1,498
Organist Salary
Special Music/Substitute
Music/Supplies/Instruments
Choir Master
Section Leader - Choir
Organ Maintenance
7,425.00
725.00
985.00
7,650.00
3,428.00
510.00
Total Music
$ 20,723.00
Total Youth
-
Year 2000
"Projected"
% Diff.
Year 2000 2000 Bud.
Budget vs Project.
$
Proposed
Year 2001
Budget
% Diff
2001 Prop
vs 2000 Proj.
94%
50%
150%
6,000
6,000
500
500
1,820
-41%
900%
203%
1,400
107%
14,820
889%
9,900
875
1,000
10,200
4,848
510
10,725
800
1,000
11,050
4,500
526
92%
109%
100%
92%
108%
97%
10,800
800
1,000
10,800
5,233
500
9%
-9%
0%
6%
8%
-2%
27,333
28,601
101%
29,133
7%
Helpful Hints….and Things to
Think About…..
 We do not fulfill the mission of the
Church alone. We are partners with all
baptized people. We are partners in
mission with our Diocese, our national
church, the Anglican Communion, and
most importantly, we are partners in
Mission with God.
More tips….
 Make sure that your parish vision and mission
statements are clearly identified on all that you
publish, not just on the pledge card, but on
EVERYTHING. By the time you get to your
stewardship campaign, your mission statement
and/or vision statement should be VERY familiar
to your congregation.
 Include specific prayers in with your pledge card
as you give them out to people – this is something
that people need to pray about!
You knew it…there’s more.
 You have to talk to people about vision, mission and
money regularly, Sunday School on up through adult.
– A great way is with a vestry witness on Sunday
mornings once per month. A member of the vestry talks
at each of your services during the announcements
about what they do on the vestry, and about how what
they do on the vestry supports the mission of the
church. They also talk about how they came to be at the
parish, and why they give of their time, talent and
treasure. This is short – about 5 minutes, but very
powerful.
 Teach....not only during the annual campaign but every
day. Actually, if we teach and preach vision, mission and
money, the annual campaign drive goes quite smoothly.
…..and Finally!
 Your budget should be realistic, and should be ministry-
based. You need to make sure that the congregation’s funds
and other resources are being distributed for mission.
 Non-profit organizations should be reporting in detail
their income and expenses – full, open, consistent and
honest disclosure will help develop trust and understanding
in the congregation.
 The Rector and vestry should be scrutinizing parish
expenses as well as income each month in light of the
parish mission statement. If the clergy, wardens and vestry
don’t have a handle on exactly how money is being spent,
the people in the congregation will not feel comfortable
that you are meeting your fiduciary responsibility.