The Difference Between Mission and Method

In every church, and in every ministry, there are two things that are in constant competition with each other. 

Your Mission, and Your Methods.

And if you don’t know how to tell the difference between the two, then you’re in for some frustrating days, and your church will be less effective in sharing the message of Jesus and loving your neighbours than it should be.  So today we’re going to start a conversation about the difference between Mission and Method and going to help you, big time.

 I’m ready to go, are you?  The first episode of the church helper podcast starts right now!

INTRO

Hey there, and welcome to the first edition of the Church Helper Podcast. Our mission is to help churches make every decision on purpose, so they can reach their communities with the message of Jesus.

My name is Mike, and I'm excited to help you and your church today, so let's get into it.

THE ONLY PLACE TO START

I'm starting this podcast by talking about the most important thing a church needs to understand before moving forward with any decision it makes. It's something almost every church is wrestling with, and it's one of the main reasons so many churches are struggling to keep their doors open. And it's this...

It's the difference between a mission and a method. 

 Understanding the mission of your church needs to be the foundation of every future program, strategy, or project it starts– so for the first few episodes of this podcast, we're going to talk a lot about mission. 

DEFINING MISSION AND METHOD

So let's define these two terms. 

Simply put, your mission is your purpose. It's the reason your church exists. It's what your church is called to do by God and by the Holy Spirit. 

Your methods are the way you accomplish your mission. 

It's the program; it's the task; it's the meetings. It's the work, the work of the mission.

And so, a Mission always needs to come before a method. Let me repeat that because it's so so important. Your mission as a church always needs to come before your methods.

Methods only matter when they are attached to a mission, or a purpose.

 Practically, this means you shouldn't have methods at all without a clear understanding of your mission first - and this is where so many churches today are getting stuck.

GROCERIES

Here's a quick example: Think about it like your shopping for groceries. 

 The mission is that you need food.

The method is how to get the food you need. 

Will you order online or go to the store yourself? Which car will you take? Will you bring bags from home or buy them there? What store will you go to?

All of these are method decisions – and the determining factor is the answer to the question: "how am I going to get the food I need?"

 Sometimes there is only one method. If you live in a small town with one grocery store, then your choice is made. But sometimes there are ten methods, and you need to decide which one is best. 

No matter what you decide, every method starts with a mission. 

Without a mission, there would be no need for a method at all. 

BIBLICAL MISSIONS

Biblically, we have a couple of missions that everyone should know about. 

In Matthew 22, Jesus gets into a conversation with some religious leaders about the greatest commandment of God. When He's questioned, He gives this answer: 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbour as yourself. 

And when He taught this, Jesus gave people a mission. 

But you'll notice He left out the method. Jesus didn't say "love your neighbour by making them dinner once a week," He just said, "love your neighbour." Jesus knew that loving your neighbour would look a little different every day.

And two thousand years later, we hold firm to the mission Jesus provided: love God, and love your neighbour. 

Later, just before His ascension into heaven, Jesus sits with his disciples and gives them what we know as The Great Commission. He says in Matthew 28, "…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." 

Go and spread the good news; go and make disciples. 

That's what you're commanded to do. 

Again, Jesus gives the mission but not the method. And aren't we thankful for that! The methods of preaching the good news have changed, language has changed, media has changed, but the mission is the same: Go and make disciples, baptize them, and obey my commands.

And I believe that if we can get this right and hold tight to our mission, God can inspire us with creative methods to see transformation, growth and new life.

ISN'T THIS OBVIOUS?

Yea, kinda. So why am I talking about it?

Well, because many churches struggle to differentiate between mission and method. Sometimes, the two are even in conflict. Churches struggle because they like how things are done now or prefer a past tradition. They want a particular worship style or liturgy, or décor, or message length or Bible translation, or communion style – name your thing. 

We all have methods of doing church that we prefer over others. 

 The HOW is comfortable to us, and that's not a problem until we start making important mission decisions based on our comfort and preference. 

GROCERIES

It's like if you got used to buying your groceries at Walmart, and then Walmart announced they were no longer in the food business. Determined, you continued to shop there each week for your groceries because it's what made you comfortable. You like the isles, you know the cashier by name, you've got the route memorized, and you always park in the same spot. And you could continue to shop there each week, but you wouldn't be meeting your mission anymore because they no longer sold food. So, unless you chose to find a new place to shop for groceries, you're going to starve. The same can be said when it comes to the church.

Churches that hold tight to their methods without paying attention to their mission are eventually going to find themselves hungry and unhealthy.

In the grocery example, after a few days, you would be forced to refocus on your mission because your stomach would be screaming at you - but in the church world, it doesn't always work that way. Often churches are moving away from or drifting, from their mission for a long time before anyone ever notices.

THAT’S WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT 

And that's why understanding the difference between mission and method is the foundation for every decision a church should make. 

It includes everything from bazaars and bakes sales to preaching topics and family ministry.

If you're unsure how to tell if your church is mission-focused or method-focused, that's ok! That's why we're here! We're here to help your church make every decision on purpose, so you can reach your community with the message of Jesus.

REACH OUT

So. Make sure you subscribe to this podcast because we're going to be doing a lot of talking about mission and methods and everything in between. I'm excited for you to come along for the ride. 

 If you ever want to engage or ask questions, feel free to reach out anytime. Head over to churchhelper.com/gethelptoday, and we'll set up a time to chat.  

 Thanks for engaging with the Church Helper Podcast, and I'll talk to you again real soon!