clarity

As I shared in my last blog, our church leadership is working on three disciplines in 2014:

  1. Clarify our mission
  2. Simplify our strategy
  3. Unify our leadership

Today I want to expand upon #1.

Better is Bigger

In the early days of Chick-fil-A, the company found itself in a heated battle against a strong competitor determined to take away their market share.  The top executives were in an all day meeting discussing what steps they should take to face this challenge.  For hours the younger executives argued persuasively for rapid expansion.  The elderly founder of the company, Truett Cathy, sat quietly at the end of the large conference table taking it all in.  With a demeanor quite out of the ordinary for the senior leader, Truett began banging his hand on the table. The room fell silent as all eyes peered at the old man. With the emotional intensity of a general commanding his troops, Truett stated, “For hours I’ve listened as we’ve argued about getting bigger.  But nobody’s talking about getting better.  I’m telling you better is bigger!  If we get better we’ll get bigger. Let’s focus on that!” And so they did…both!

Eventually that mantra made its way into Chick-fil-A’s culture.  I believe it should also make its way into every church’s culture.

But before a church can get better it must get clearer.  You can’t improve what you don’t understand. Therefore, the very first step is for our church and all of its ministries to become so clear on WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO that every volunteer bleeds it and every attender sees it!

That’s why this year’s staff retreat focused on this first step.  I met with the deacons and we did the same exercise. I asked each leader to finish this sentence:

ORBC exists to ___________________________________.

I told them to write out one simple sentence.  The shorter the better. No marketing slogans. No insider language. No cliches. Just state why we are here. What’s our purpose for existing?

So far, I have collected nearly 40 responses.  Here’s some of my favorites:

  1. ORBC exists to make Christ’s LOVE tangible.
  2. We exist to bring hope to a world that is broken.
  3. ORBC exists to bring the unchurched into a lifelong relationship with Christ.
  4. ORBC exist to Change lives through a relevant Christ and strong community.
  5. ORBC exist to show our community the love of Jesus by meeting their needs and providing a place where anyone can become who God created them to be.
  6. We exist to bring hope to a world that is broken.
  7. We exist to create an authentic community where people continue to take steps closer to Christ!
  8. ORBC exists to show love by offering hope and healing.
  9. ORBC exists to reach unchurched young families with the message of Jesus.
  10. ORBC exists to introduce people to the life-changing love of Jesus Christ.

We will continue to work on this until we feel we’ve hit gold.  Then we’ll roll out our purpose statement to the body so that every member and every ministry are working towards the same goal!

What would your sentence be? Comment on this post and let me know!

6 Comments
  • Angel Adams
    Posted at 15:21h, 25 February Reply

    ORBC exists to grow the body of Christ by attracting people in, winning their hearts & souls, and teaching them to be more like Jesus.

  • Adam Ridgely
    Posted at 15:43h, 25 February Reply

    ORBC exists to be the body of Christ, the lead for the blind, the word for the deaf, the vision for the blind, the armor for the weak, and the support of the broken.

  • Darlene Schlegel
    Posted at 15:34h, 26 February Reply

    ORBC exists to provide the opportunity for everyone to know Christ!

  • Karen Riggin
    Posted at 17:00h, 27 February Reply

    ORBC exists to examine our hearts and to change our lives to serve Jesus Christ. (No matter where we are in life)

  • Sunny Helgeson
    Posted at 03:41h, 01 March Reply

    ORBC exists to serve Christ through serving our communities.

  • Randi Andersen
    Posted at 18:43h, 01 March Reply

    ORBC exists to show the world Jesus, and how to live as His follower.

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