The Mission Question... part 3

Two weeks ago I mentioned a business article I read which identified four questions that every business must ask… four “mission questions” that are even better than having a “mission statement” because they help an organization clarify or define their mission.  I believe it’s important for churches, too, to ask these same question as we seek to clarify our mission.  #1  Why are we here in the first place?   And #2 what does the world need most that we are most uniquely able to provide?  The third is the challenging question for us…

#3  What are we willing to sacrifice?

Every business faces tough choices.  Churches, too.  When it comes to defining our mission, we must ask this all-important question, “What are we willing to do to be successful?”  If our mission is to take the gospel into our community and our world to make disciples (cf. Matt. 28) then what are we willing to sacrifice in order to put the time, money and energies into making that happen?  It’s a good question, isn’t it?  Would we be willing to sacrifice money?  What percentage of our budget would we be willing to dedicate to mission and outreach?  I want to thank everyone for an outstanding special contribution last month dedicated to just this, local outreach.  Over $7,000 was given specifically for this.  That is awesome!  That is $7,000 that could have been used elsewhere… on our facility, on church-fellowships or any number of ways.  Yet, we chose to sacrifice that for local outreach.  That may be the easiest thing to sacrifice, however. 

What about time?  If you’re like me, time is the most precious commodity you’ve got.  Everybody has a limited amount of it and some of the biggest decisions we make in life is how to spend it.  Would we be willing to sacrifice our time towards teaching the lost, towards feeding the hungry, towards building relationships that matter with people who need to know the Lord?  For me, time spent in these areas means time away from doing other things… other things like ballgames or family outings; time working in the yard or catching up on things at home; time preparing for a lesson or time or time just relaxing.  What time are you willing to sacrifice to be about the mission of the church?  I am so grateful for our deacons.  Many of them spend untold amounts of time away from these things and from other things they enjoy doing to be about the work of the church.  They are the ones who make things happen and for that I am so grateful!  On Saturday, November 2^nd Hands of Mercy is holding a Fall Mobile Food Pantry for families in need in the community.  Once again it will be held at the Fairgrounds and once again they are in need of volunteers.  If you would be willing to sacrifice some of your time and energy on that Saturday morning, they will begin at 10am sorting and unloading the truck.  It is a great opportunity to be a blessing to our community… but it will require sacrifice.  Are you willing to sacrifice for the mission?