Welcome Message
“We desire a religious organization which shall make integrity of life its first aim and provide for the free expression and discussion of religious convictions, human ideals, and conscience.”
- Founding members, 1966
Mission, Vision and Strategic Planning
Dawn Cooley, Unitarian Universalist Minister
I have been hearing a lot at UUFN recently about Mission Statements, Vision Statements, and Strategic Plans. While I think all of these documents are very important, I have to confess to being not so certain about how they differed – I am particularly curious about the distinctions between mission and vision statements. So I hopped onto the internet and found a plethora of information. Most interesting, to me, is that Unitarian Universalist congregations lead the way in posting both their Mission and their Vision statements on their websites. It seems to me that UU congregations want potential visitors to know what we are about.
The following is slightly edited from Wikipedia:
- A Mission statement: tells you what the congregation is now. It concentrates on present; it defines the population we serve, critical processes within the congregation and it informs us about the desired level of performance.
- A Vision statement: outlines what a congregation wants to be. It concentrates on future; it is a source of inspiration; it provides clear decisionmaking criteria.
- A Strategic Plan builds upon the Vision statement in specifically defining how the vision will be realized, through observable and measurable goals.
Many people mistake vision statement for mission statement. The Vision describes a future identity and the Mission describes why it will be achieved. A Mission statement defines the purpose or broader goal for being in existence. It serves as an ongoing guide without time frame. The mission can remain the same for decades if crafted well. Vision is more specific in terms of objective and future state. Vision is related to some form of achievement if successful.
A mission statement can resemble a vision statement in a few congregations, but that can be a grave mistake. It can confuse people. The vision statement can galvanize the people to achieve defined objectives, even if they are stretch objectives. A mission statement provides a path to realize the vision in line with its values. These statements have a direct bearing on the success of the congregation.
Which comes first? The mission statement or the vision statement? That depends. If you have a new congregation or plan to re engineer your current services, then the vision will guide the mission statement and the rest of the strategic plan. If you have an established congregation where the mission is established, then many times, the mission guides the vision statement and the rest of the strategic plan. Either way, you need to know where you are, your current resources, your current obstacles, and where you want to go – the vision for the future.
UUFN has both a Mission Statement and a Vision Statement – have you come across either one recently? After reading the expansive vision statements of other congregations, I wonder if it is time to either re-engage the process, or re-aquaint ourselves with what we already have. Perhaps this is where the conversation needs to begin: with an evaluation of what we already have and of where we truly wish to be going.
