Life on Purpose - 5 Easy Steps to Fine Tune Your Family’s Mission Statement

My husband and I have discussed what we want our family to be known for, what we’re passionate about, our core values, and what it would mean for us to succeed.  We have even scribbled our thoughts down on pieces of paper. However, sometimes those pages get misplaced and the words disappeared. In the hustle and bustle of the day-to-day our ideas get lost too.

Finally, it was time to take all those wonderful things that we already wrote down in the Mission Statement Discussion Sheet and Family Culture Discussion Sheet (see posts here and here) and weave them together to form our Family Mission Statement. We learned a lot by going through the process and found it really worthwhile. Hopefully you will too.

Much like editing any kind of writing, we needed to decide what stays, what goes, and how to make it a complete picture. If you are dealing with more than one author, the process can seem daunting. But not to worry, today I am sharing with you 5 Easy Steps to make all the pieces fit together into a strong Family Mission Statement.

Here is how you do it:

1. If you are creating a Family Mission Statement with your spouse, look over the unedited discussion sheets you have completed and find those ideas that are the same or similar. In the graphic below, the highlighted text are the Passions and Core Values my husband and I found were in sync. These included putting God first and following His lead for our life, following Biblical principles about finances, doing things with excellence, and valuing our family.

 

2. Identify the recurring themes across the categories. I found a few in our lists, such as our faith in Christ, putting family first, investing in one another, and stewarding our resources well. The different colors shown tie together those themes.

Mission_2_edited-3.png

3. Combine or condense the recurring themes and complementary ideas into a sentence or two. For example:

  • Kids  
  • Family first
  • Have a home environment where kids support one another and treat each other well
  • Family sow into those relationships

Becomes…

  • In our family we will put each other first. We will support, respect, and continually forgive one another so that our home will be a safe place.

Or

  • Steward well money, things, relationships, and opportunities
  • Manage money well and teach our kids to manage money well following God’s plan for money
  • Be diligent with finances and spend wisely
  • Live life well and have excess funds to bless others.

Becomes…

  • Steward well and be generous.

4. There will be outliers in your list. Decide whether those ideas, personal to you or your spouse, are ones you can support and promote in your family. If so, talk about how they fit into the big picture. Refine those statements as needed.

5. Take all your refined sentences and combine them into a mission statement.

Remember every family’s statement of purpose will look different. It can be short and sweet, such as “Grateful for all things,” a lengthy paragraph, or a list with bullet points.

Here’s what our family came up with:

God first, we honor Him with our choices. As a family: We support, respect, and continually forgive. You are safe to be yourself. We do all things well, steward well, and are generous. We do not settle for average, we continue to grow and learn. We celebrate life and create beauty together. Integrity marks our lives.

Next month I will share creative ways we display our Family Mission Statement and remind ourselves that we are a family on a mission. 

Kimberly Amici is an enthusiastic and dedicated founding member of the Circles of Faith team. She is known for her creativity, strong faith, and commitment to living life with purpose and passion. Kimberly is a writer and community builder whose desire is for hearts to be healed, minds to be renewed and women to be connected in fellowship just as God intended.

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