GLORIETA, N.M. (BP)–Developing a family mission statement can lead members to see themselves more as missionaries to their community, a Southern Baptist writer and conference leader said during Minister’s Family Weekend, July 7-10, at Glorieta, a LifeWay Conference Center.
Rhonda Reese, resource and curriculum director for the weekday program at Deer Meadows Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Fla., led families to develop mission statements and a “family crest” from construction paper, art and craft supplies and glue.
Participants were urged to develop a statement to describe what their family believes about God, how their family wants to be used by God and how the family will relate to the world and to each other.
As a part of the activity, Reese led families to create a one-sentence motto and choose a Scripture verse that is special to the family.
The Daryl Watts family from Fresno, Calif., used a play on their last name to create a crest. It featured a light bulb and the motto, “Four Watts for Jesus.” Most families incorporated spiritual beliefs, personal interests and hobbies in their artistic representations.
Reese said she has seen more similarities than differences in family mission statements among ministers’ families.
“They tend to deal with using their talents and gifts to serve God,” she said, “and to encourage gifts in each other, meshing them together. When they come up with a purpose statement, I think they will be more intentional when they go home. I think some of these areas are not things we think through daily, when they are the crux of what we are all about.”
Reese said she doesn’t believe most families formulate a mission statement “unless they have a scheduled activity to talk through what they do as a family unit.”
As for the activities involved in accomplishing the tasks of a mission statement and a crest, Reese said she has seen “a lot of families laugh and have fun, some leaving the project with glitter in their hair.”
“One family didn’t finish their project in the allotted time,” she recalled. They came back the next day, skipping some other activities and worked joyfully through the entire day. They said it was very meaningful to them.”
Reese said some families have approached the tasks with more intensity than others and she has enjoyed watching the reactions of some ministers.
“I’ve enjoyed watching some stuffy preachers loosen up,” she laughed. “It [artwork] isn’t something they usually do.”
The LeaderCare section of the pastor-staff leadership department at LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention sponsored minister’s Family Weekend at the New Mexico conference center. LeaderCare is a ministry to ministers and their families.
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