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CHURCH DEVELOPMENT Valuing Our Values
By Roger K. Swanson
Director of Operation Evangelization
Why, I have wondered, do some congregations have clarity
around the mission of the church, and even a vision of the future, but still don’t
seem to move forward? They talk the talk, but never get around to walking the walk. They
have visited exciting places of vital Christian outreach and growth. They have attended
all the workshops that the conference and para-church organizations have offered. Yet,
still, their malaise continues.
It has to do with the values they live by. Mission sets direction for ministry; vision energizes the church for ministry, but values are the stepping stones on which we move into the future. If our values are not in alignment with mission and vision then nothing happens.
In "Unlocking Church Doors," Paul Mundy has written, "the most common mistake made by (would-be) change agents is introducing a new program or ministry, without introducing a new accompanying value."
Values are the key beliefs or assumptions of the congregation. Evangelization strategies will get a church nowhere without values that support it, such as "lost people matter to God," or "the church’s reason for being is to reach out to those who are not in it." Without supporting values, pulpit appeals to share faith and invite friends and neighbors to church become a long litany of "shouldas, couldas and wouldas."
What are the values and assumptions operative in your congregation? What new values need to be introduced before you institute a particular change?
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