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Today we’re going to create a mission statement. Yay!

I highly encourage you to set aside some time to work on this from beginning to end. It will require some focus, thought and prayer. But don’t worry about making it perfect, just get a good rough draft. You can tweak it and refine it in the coming weeks.

List Your Roles

The first step in creating a mission statement is to identify your roles in life. Some of them might be things you do. Some of them might be things you are. As you write things down, don’t worry about your order, just write.

Examples:

Wife
Runner
Writer
Christian
Business owner
Employee
Mother
Sunday School Teacher
Small group leader

Prioritize Your Roles

Now order your roles according to what is important to you. Don’t order them according to the places of your greatest responsibility or reward, but rather based on what is most vital and important to you.

For example:
When I was making my mission statement my list looked something like this.

Believer
Wife
Mother
Writer
Small group leader
Runner
Web designer

Simplify Your Roles

Which of your roles are absolute? Which ones MUST you do?

This is where it gets hard. We don’t want to exclude anything, but we must. Our mission statement should not include everything we want to do. It’s kind of like a map. If we stop in every single town along the way, we’ll never reach our destination.

Your mission statement needs to be focused, so that when you’re feeling scattered, you can rely on it to get you back on track.

Example:
When I made my mission statement, I focused on my top four roles. Not that the others weren’t important to me, but the top four are my core.

Believer
Wife
Mother
Writer

Dream

Now select your first priority. Write it down. Take a few minutes to decide what your ultimate dream goal for that role would be. When runners run a race, they don’t just run. They always know where the finish line is and they run to it. If someone were to talk about you in this role, what would you love for them to say?

It doesn’t need to be perfectly worded. Just jot things down.

Now continue this process for each role.

Example:
Now this may be kind of morbid, but when I worked on my mission statement, I thought about what I would want people to say about me when I die.

I’d want God to say,”Well done, good and faithful servant.” I’d want Jimmy to say I was a good and loving wife. I’d want my kids to say that I loved them well and helped them live lives in passionate pursuit of God. And I’d want others to say that I inspired them to love Jesus more.

Create Action Statements

Now it’s time to work your list for each role into actionable phrases. Your mission statement should be active. It should tell you what you should be doing.

Example:
Here’s what I came up with for my mission statement:

To pursue Jesus with my whole heart and surrender all that I am and all that I have so that I can be fully used by Him.
To make Jimmy feel loved, cared for and admired.
To have fun with my children and help them grow up to be people who know, deeply love and wholeheartedly serve God.
To live my life in such a way that others are inspired to fully pursue Jesus and desire constant growth in their personal lives.

Conclusion

More than anything, spend time praying as you develop your mission statement. Ask God to make sure His desires and your desires are aligned. Ask for wisdom and words that will inspire you when times get tough. He has big plans for you, make time to find out what they are.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. – Jeremiah 29:11

Care To Share?

I realize that your mission statement is very personal, but I’m sure it would inspire others to read what you’ve created. If you’d like to, please share your mission statement here in the comments.

And of course, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

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Mission statements are for Fortune 500 companies. They’re for women who close deals, carry briefcases and wear their hair in something other than a ponytail.

I’m a mom. I change diapers, watch Sesame Street and listen to the “Choo choo Song” seven thousand times a day. Why do I need a Mission Statement? Isn’t that a bit over the top? What kind of mom does something like that?

A purposeful one.

I love this quote from G.K. Chesterton:

How can it be a large career to tell other people about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone and narrow to be everything to someone? No, a woman’s function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute.

Leading a company or a country is no greater or more important than leading a child. Motherhood should be approached with just as much vision, passion and purpose.

Passion is something mothers have in abundance, but we are rarely taught to have vision and purpose. Today is a great day for that to change. Are you ready?

Why Moms Should Have A Mission Statement

1. Make Better Decisions.
A Mission Statement gives you a guideline to help you make wise decisions that benefit you and your family. It helps you to differentiate between the seemingly urgent and the truly important. When you need to simplify your life, you know what needs to go and what needs to stay.

2. Get A Bird’s Eye View.
Developing a mission statement is an opportunity to think big about your life. We get caught up in the day to day and lose sight of why we do what we do.

3. An Unwavering Reminder.
Mission Statements don’t have a monthly cycle. They don’t get discouraged. They don’t get overwhelmed. Having a Mission Statement is like having the best version of yourself beside you on your worst days, encouraging you to press on and pointing to the goal.

Homework

You read that right. Homework. Remember, the name of this blog is Inspired to Action. My job is to do the first part. Your job is to do the second part. We’re a team. Go team!

1. Print out the Mission Statement worksheet. Download it here. There is an example of how I have used it and a blank one for you. Put it someplace that you’ll see it often. We’ll discuss it and fill it out this week.

2. Pray. Spend 5 minutes today praying that God would give you vision for current roles in life and inspiring words for your mission statement.

(FYI – Sorry I didn’t post much last week. I’d felt better and then much worse. Thanks for your prayers, I think I’m definitely on the mend now.)

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