new Purpose Statement

All Saints,

All Saints’ God-given purpose is…

Igniting people—passionate for God’s Word, real relationships, and prayer—who boldly transform our neighborhoods with love and hope.

This brand new statement of All Saints’ God-given purpose was debuted in worship on Sunday, September 23. You can read the introduction that went with it by clicking here. Think of this article as Purpose Statement FAQs—Frequently Asked Questions.

Will this replace “Missionaries Proclaiming Christ”? Maybe. That was not the New Vision Team’s original intention. Drafting this purpose statement was intended to give All Saints’ ministries more focus and direction than “Missionaries Proclaiming Christ” can, since it’s so compact, and—above all—to engage the whole congregation in discerning God’s purpose for All Saints.

In a way, you can see this new purpose statement as an expansion or elaboration of “Missionaries Proclaiming Christ.” It certainly inspired those who gathered at the Purpose Writing Retreat. So there’s a way the two complement each other.

At the same time, over time, the Council and New Vision Team may decide “Missionaries Proclaiming Christ” has served God’s purposes at All Saints, as a kind of stepping stone, and choose to create a new tagline out of this new purpose statement.

What’s next? The New Vision Team will broaden the circle, from the original drafters at the retreat to as many All Saints’ folks as possible, elected leaders and everyone. Stay tuned for in-home cottage meetings, focused on All Saints’ purpose and stewardship. The goal is to engage this statement and let it engage us. What do we hear in it? How does it reflect All Saints? How does it encourage All Saints to grow?

It will never be “finished,” because God is still speaking and our capacity to hear is still growing. Of course, the best way to discover what, if anything, about it needs to change is to use it.

How will we use this statement? By weaving it into worship; hanging it on walls; looking through it at the budget; putting it in the bulletin, newsletter, and website; basing yearly evaluation and planning on it; repeating it, repeating it, repeating it; asking the question at every decision: “How does this relate to the purpose God gave us?” and also continually asking: “How can we use this statement?” Over time, the question will change from, “How do we use it?” to “How is it helping God use us?” As we work on it, it will work on us.

What about the core values statement we heard about? A statement of All Saints’ core values is the other half of the equation: Vision + Purpose + Core Values + Time. If our purpose statement names why we are here, a core values statement will describe who we are, or what we believe most strongly.

The process of drafting the core values statement will be just the same as the purpose statement: first, a congregation-wide retreat on Sat, Nov 10; then, refining and combining; finally, a time for engaging it and beginning to use it.

Thanks be to those who had a hand in drafting it—it’s a great statement!—and thanks be to all who will engage it in these coming weeks.

And most especially, thanks be to God!

Pastor Clark Olson-Smith

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