A church writing a mission statement must fully understand the doctrine it is following, decide what it can contribute to the congregation and the community, and use words that can be easily understood and accomplished. All high-ranking members of the church, including elders, board members, preachers and deacons, are usually involved in making these decisions and writing the mission statement. A church mission statement typically tells the congregation and others the purpose of the church and what it will be teaching. It is important to many people when they are choosing the church they want to attend.
The first thing that is usually done when writing a church mission statement is gathering all of the high-ranking members of the church. These members typically meet and discuss opinions, ideas and inspiration. They may do research to see what other churches have chosen for their church mission statement. A lot of time and effort is usually put into deciding how to write what amounts to a short but inspiring statement about the church.
Those writing the church mission statement must next discuss what goals they have in mind for the church and how those goals will coincide with the church's doctrine. The church mission statement will briefly describe what the church believes and wants to share with others. The writers will sometimes participate in a Bible study to better understand certain areas of their denomination's beliefs that may be confusing.
After the writers have discussed their beliefs, their goals for the church and their ideas, they must pour the results of that effort into composing the church mission statement. This is generally a simple composition including a description of the church's mission, which can vary substantially from church to church. The statement often consists of only a short sentence or paragraph. It is not usually lengthy, and it typically does not offer an explanation of how the mission will eventually be accomplished.
It is usually the job of the minister to present the finished mission statement to the full congregation. Members of the congregation will then decide whether they like the statement and agree with its stated goals. Failure of the congregation to agree on a mission statement can happen if members disagree with the goal or feel it's unattainable. This usually requires those who wrote the rejected statement to return to discussions to see what changes can be made to achieve churchwide acceptance.