Built to Last: A Strong Family in Church PlantingSample

MISSION

In the craziness and business of church planting, it can be easy to assume that our family understands why we are doing what we’re doing. However, the mission doesn’t go without saying. It doesn’t go without living it inside and outside the ministry of ourchurch. We must intentionally share the why behind the what. Understanding the mission helps give them the fortitude to endure the trials of church planting. No matter where you are, your family did not end up there by happenstance. God has a calling, a purpose and a plan for each member of your family.

Our roles may change many times, but the mission stays the same. We must not confuse the two, or assume our children know the difference between our role and our mission. For many people their life mission is no greater than survival and pleasure. But ministry families are not like others. For our family, the mission is to obey the call of God on our lives, become more like Jesus, and lead people to him in as many ways as possible. What is the mission of your family? I encourage you to give it some time and thought.

There’s nothing more heartbreaking to me than great worship leaders who mentor many but whose children never play an instrument, and brilliant world-changers whose kids never catch the fire of serving others. Share the mission with your family and let them share in it. Impart the best of yourself into them: your special gifts and your unique heart. In the end when they put us in the grave, our children won’t talk much about what we built. They will talk about how we lived, how we loved and what we taught them. This is their spiritual inheritance. This is the mission.