Your Life Mission Statement

A Life-Shaping Decision

If you've never written you "Life Mission Statement", I encourage you to do so. Writing a Life-Mission statement is as important as writing your "Last Will and Testament" - more important actually, because once you've written your "Last Will and Testament you're done; once you've written your life mission statement you begin to live more purposefully than ever.

Your Life-Mission statement on the other hand will maximize the value of every day of your life in a variety of ways including:

• a clearer focus in your annual and daily priorities

• it will help you direct your energies

• you can use it as criteria for making difficult decisions and using limited resources

And above all, at the end of life, you will far less likely feel that you wasted some or much of the gift of life entrusted to you.

Like a "Last Will and Testament" however, you can review, rewrite and refine your "Life Mission Statement" as you learn and reflect further on God's calling on your life.

For example, in 1996 Carol and I wrote:

"Our mission is to be fully available (Mark 8:34) to God for strategic use in bringing revival and multiplying churches, especially among least reached people groups, so as to snatch a maximum number of people from the enemy and bring them to be wholehearted worshipers (Rev. 7: 9) and disciplined servants (Rev. 12: 11) of the Living God, and to mobilize others to do the same."

This was not the first mission statement I've written and may not be the last. But this statement has affected many choices, goals, how I've invested my life and at least one move to another country. 

How I express my Life-Mission may change with capacity as I age, with opportunities I hadn't seen before, or as I meet others to partner with. Yet the basic direction continues to be valid into retirement and years of declining strength - perhaps through prayer, mentoring younger leaders, financial giving or other non-vocational means of investing in fulfilling my life's mission.

Let me suggest the following steps:

1. Reflect on your primary values in life and what would make you feel good about how you invested your life when you look back on your decisions at the end of your earthly life.

2. Write a draft "Life Mission Statement" today.

3. Review it for a week. You may find yourself sharpening, making it more specific or focusing more clearly until you are satisfied.

4. Read it before you write your goals for the next month. Do so again each January 1.

5. Don't get discouraged or leave it behind when you become busy with the challenges of life. Come back and refocus again.

You may also want to read reflections on the value of time.