“One of the most central elements of any culture is the assumptions the members of the organization share about their identity and ultimate mission.” – Edgar Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership
What Assumptions Are Driving Your Church?
Does your church carry the mission with them daily? Or does the average person attending your church believe they fulfill your church's mission by attending your church?
There’s a big difference between a church living out a disciple-making mission together and a church where the unspoken assumption is that their role in the mission is to help the “professionals” execute the mission—primarily at the church building.
A Story of Misguided Assumptions
At RunFree.co, we help leaders address this fundamental assumption before coaching them to create a mission statement. Will Mancini once coached a church leader who believed his mission statement didn’t need to change. The church’s statement was “Helping people follow Jesus.” Simple enough, right?
However, Will asked him to casually interview a few key church attenders and leaders. Will instructed him to ask them if they knew the mission, which they all did. Then ask, “Who does the helping?” Without fail, every church member smiled and said, “Well, you do, pastor.”
This response wrecked the pastor as he realized their misguided understanding of the church's core mission.
The Gospel You Preach Determines the Disciples You Make
Bill Hull and Ben Sobels, in their book The Discipleship Gospel, observe that “the gospel you preach determines the disciples you make.” I believe that’s true. I also believe that your culture—shaping mission, values, strategy, measures, and vision—combines to determine the disciples you make. That will either be a Lower Room, program church kind of disciple, or an Upper Room multiplying disciple-maker.
Are We Living the Functional Great Commission?
Mancini, in his book Future Church, suggests that the Great Commission we are actually living out isn’t the Great Commission at all, but rather what he calls the Functional Great Commission: “Go into all the world and create more church attenders, baptizing them in the name of small groups, and teaching them to volunteer a few hours a month.”
This cutting observation forces us to ask: are we truly making disciples, or are we inadvertently creating a culture of passive church attenders?
Transforming Assumptions for a Mission-Driven Culture
When a church embraces a culture where every member sees themselves as an active participant in the mission of making disciples, the results are transformative. It’s no longer about a program or a location; it’s about a shared identity and a daily commitment to the mission of Jesus lived out in everyday spaces.
Questions for Reflection
As church leaders, what assumptions are we making about how people perceive their role in the mission? Is your language helping or hindering the "all-play" nature of the Great Commission? How can we challenge and reshape these assumptions to move from attendance-based participation to mission-driven living?
You can foster a culture where every member sees themselves as an integral part of the disciple-making mission, not just through volunteerism. Through a deep understanding and ownership of every believer's disciple-making and unique calling.
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