Developing a Personal Mission Statement

You might have heard of companies doing mission statements. A mission statement helps a company to clarify its purpose for being.

A personal mission statement does the same thing. When you develop a personal mission statement, it helps you to think through what it is you want to do in life and how you want to conduct yourself. When you have a personal mission statement, you will line up everything you do behind it. You will find yourself testing areas of your life against your statement to see if you align your actions.

Let me give you some examples.

• To embody Jesus to suffering people (this is the Personal Mission Statement of a Christian Counselor)
• To serve every person God brings into my sphere of influence in a way that seeks the best for them (this is mine)
• To communicate the gospel message through word and deed to each person
• To provide limitless love to my children and my other family and church family members
• To leave a legacy which will enrich the lives of others in my community
• To bring my community closer to prosperity, using my God-given talents and spiritual gifts
• To impact the world for Jesus Christ by becoming a person of significance in the life of others (this is the Personal Mission Statement of a Christian lawyer)

As you looked at these statements, did it strike you that these are “other-centered”? It’s almost impossible not to “consider others better than yourself” when you’ve developed a personal mission statement.  

Philippians 2:3-4

”Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Spend some time thinking through your own personal mission statement. Write it down. And, why not bless me by sharing it:  psmith@biblical.edu