Mission - St. Barnabas' Episcopal Church, Odessa, Texas

St. Barnabas' Episcopal Church, Odessa, Texas

Our community follows Christ because we seek enhanced spiritual life with our heavenly Father.

Assessing our Mission

1. How is our mission customized to our church?
a. How was it developed? By whom, and when?
b. Are there words in the mission statement that have unique meaning to our congregation?
Are there phrases in our mission statement that are "borrowed" from other successful churches?
2. What degree of common understanding and ownership of the mission statement is present?
with staff?
with the church leadership and key influencers?
with the congregation at large?
What percentage of each group above could recite it from memory?What percentage of each group above could restate it in their own words, with their own stories to illustrate it and be in general agreement with its intent?What part if any of the mission statement is most often misunderstood or not widely owned by each of the groups above?
Original Source: Index p.3, Assessing Church Culture

Anecdotes About Our Mission

Stories
1. When people talk about what type of person our church is called to serve, what kind of person do they describe? How specifically do they describe the needs of this person and their hopes for those needs to be addressed?
2. When people in our church talk about what our church does especially well, what do they say, and how do they illustrate what they mean? How would that change if you asked people outside of our church in our community? When people join our church, what are some typical words and stories they give to explain their reasons?
3. What are the primary topics that are most often preached, covered in church newsletters, and taught in other teaching settings?
4. What stories about the church's roots and history seem to always surface in discussions, presentations and orientations of new members?
5. When the "spirituality" is discussed, what is described? What are some common characteristics about the "holy" people of the church? What attributes of God seem to be emphasized more than others (love, justice, faithfulness, power, forgiveness, etc.)?
Original Source: Index p.6ff., Assessing Church Culture

Identifying the people we serve

If our program reflects our mission, who would you rank as the
person we serve most often? Rate each below from 1 to 10.

___ Non-Christians get a safe place to hear and respond to the

message of Christ: Evangelism

___ The needy receive help as we send people out into

the community: Outreach

___ Those who have recently come (or returned to) Christ come

in: Young Christians

___ Believers receive both good Bible teaching and opportunities

to mature: Discipleship (Bible study emphasis)

___ Believers grow through on-going service:

Discipleship (service emphasis)

___ Any individual finds a Christian family through small group-

fellowship experiences: Community emphasis

___ Hurting people receive a safe place where the can grow:

___ Midst-of-life-transition folk receive support as they enter

college, marriage, midlife or retirement: Transitions

___ Young people receive help both to discover their gifts and to

be more effective in all facets of their life: Marketplace

___ The elderly receive support and get involved: Aging
___ Other: