Mission Statement Alignment

158 Pages·2015·1.76 MB·English

by  David Fuller

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

MISSION STATEMENT ALIGNMENT;
GUIDING MINISTRIES TOWARD A STRATEGIC CULTURE FOCUSED ON THE GREAT
COMMISSION

A Thesis Project Submitted to
Liberty University Baptist Theological Seminary
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree

DOCTOR OF MINISTRY

By

David Paul Fuller

Lynchburg, Virginia

July 2014
Copyright © 2014 David P. Fuller
All Rights Reserved
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

THESIS PROJECT APPROVAL SHEET

___________________________
GRADE

___________________________
MENTOR
Dr. Charlie Davidson
Director, Doctor of Ministry Program
Associate Professor of Chaplaincy

___________________________
READER
Dr. David W. Hirschman
Acting Dean
Assistant Professor of Religion
iv

ABSTRACT

MISSION STATEMENT ALIGNMENT: GUIDING MINISTRIES TOWARD A STRATEGIC
CULTURE FOCUSED ON THE GREAT COMMISSION

David Paul Fuller
Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, 2014
Mentor: Dr. Charlie Davidson
The development of organizational mission statements has been emphasized since the
early 1990’s. Church ministries and religious organizations providing direct human services
within communities have utilized mission statements to articulate actions and identity. The
purpose of this project is to provide a framework to construct a clearly defined mission
statement, to measure the behavior of the organization to determine proper mission statement
alignment and to focus that alignment toward the great commission. The project will survey
religious organizations within the United States and compare religious non-profits’ operational
and administrative procedures to their own mission statement. Based on the findings of the
project’s research, a review of scripture, books and related research a process for mission
statement development is offered, keys for mission alignment are proposed and a tool for
measuring mission statement alignment that focuses organizational actions toward the great
commission found in Matthew 28 is presented.
Abstract length: 147 words.
v

DEDICATION

This project is dedicated to a heavenly Father whose grace has been applied to this poor
sinner countless times, and to my wife Bunky who gave up so much that allowed me to fulfill a
dream.
vi

CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ...........................................................................................................................iv

DEDICATION .......................................................................................................................v

CONTENTS ...........................................................................................................................vi

LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................viii

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .................................................................................................ix

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................1

Statement of Importance and Purpose of Research ..................................................2

Statement of the Problem ..........................................................................................3

Statement of Scope and Limitations ..........................................................................6

Theoretical Basis for the Project ................................................................................8

Statement of Methodology .........................................................................................14

Summary Review of the Literature ............................................................................15

CHAPTER TWO: RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT .............................................................29

Survey Instrument ......................................................................................................32

Survey Process ...........................................................................................................33

Sample Selection ........................................................................................................35

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH FINDINGS .....................................................................38

Organization Response – Structure ............................................................................38

Organization Response – Mission Declaration ..........................................................45

Organization Response – Behaviors ..........................................................................49

CHAPTER FOUR: MISSION CONSTRUCTION ...............................................................61

Mission Perspectives ..................................................................................................62
vii

Mission – Biblical ..........................................................................................64

Mission – Organizational ...............................................................................67

Mission – Managerial ....................................................................................69

Mission – Leadership .....................................................................................72

Mission Statement Construct Relational ....................................................................77

Mission Statement Construct Reactional ...................................................................87

CHAPTER FIVE: MISSION ALIGNMENT ........................................................................105

The Case for Mission Alignment ...............................................................................106

Keys for Mission Alignment ......................................................................................113

Mission Alignment Matrix .........................................................................................116

CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION .........................................................................................124

APPENDIX A .......................................................................................................................128

APPENDIX B .......................................................................................................................129

BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................143

IRB EXEMPTION PAGE .....................................................................................................149
viii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. The standard organization ..............................................................................45

Table 2. Action based mission statements ...................................................................47

Table 3. Premier services .............................................................................................49

Table 4. Listing of secondary tier services ..................................................................51

Table 5. Service budget allocations .............................................................................54

Table 6. Religious words and phrases found in mission statements ............................58

Table 7. Religious organization descriptive listing ......................................................60

Table 8. Foundational aspects of mission development ..............................................76

Table 9. Declaration v. expression comparison ...........................................................83

Table 10. Declaration v. expression comparison (XYZ Ministry) ................................85

Table 11. Declaration v. expression compassion (Empowering) ...................................92

Table 12. Strategy model ...............................................................................................95

Table 13. Declaration v. expression comparison (Church Planting) .............................100

Table 14. Declaration v. expression comparison (Contemplative Dialogue) ................101

Table 15. Mission alignment matrix scoring rubric .......................................................121
ix

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure 1. Survey respondents years of service ..............................................................40
Figure 2. Board is active and fulfills a vital role within the organization .....................42

Figure 3. Responding organizations annual budget ......................................................43

Figure 4. Defining primary community impact.............................................................48

Figure 5. Premier service indicated in mission statement .............................................50

Figure 6. CEO time allocation .......................................................................................53

Figure 7. Budget allocations to premier program..........................................................55

Figure 8. Mission construct – relational ........................................................................81

Figure 9. Leadership and management..........................................................................89

Figure 10. Mission construct – reactional .......................................................................103

Figure 11. Mission construct – full .................................................................................105

Figure 12. Di-Missional ..................................................................................................109

Figure 13. Dis-Missional .................................................................................................110

Figure 14. Bi-Missional ...................................................................................................110

Figure 15. Mission fragmentation ...................................................................................111

Figure 16. Mission focus .................................................................................................113

Figure 17. Mission alignment matrix ..............................................................................118

Figure 18. Mission alignment matrix – example .............................................................122
CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION
Francis Heselbein, Chair of the Board for the Peter F. Drucker Foundation, traveled to
China during the fall of 2000, and in her series of seminars to leaders across that country, she
spoke about mission statements. Ms. Heselbein indicated it was the power of mission and the
goals encompassed by that mission that guides leaders and the organization toward a visionary
future.1 The word mission carries with it unique challenges, expansive opportunities and
numerous possibilities as see in the following questions. Can an organization move forward with
a purposeful goal and still meet the demands of an ever-changing constituency base? Can a
group of individuals be united in a directed process focused upon a meaningful outcome? Could
operational standards embraced by an organization’s leadership move them and the organization
toward a meaningful future?
These questions can guide directors, executives, and board members from the private
nonprofit sector as that group develops and utilizes a mission statement to describe the intended
actions and identity of a particular organization. As a result, numerous articles and books have
been generated to bring the business and nonprofit community together in a common language of
mission, objectives, and outcomes.2 However, in this development has purpose been confused
with productivity and mission been obscured by methodology?
Attention is directed toward service delivery organizations that display an identity as
faith-based or religious. Questions must be asked if an organization declares that it is doing the
most good, is it doing the right thing and is it keeping first things first? This author’s father was

1 The Drucker Foundation, On Mission and Leadership: a leader to leader guide, ed. Frances Hesselbein
and Rob Johnson (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2002), 2.
2 Maureen F. Fitzgerald, Mission Possible: creating a mission for work and life (Vancouver, B.C.: Quinn
Publishing, 2003), 15.
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