In today’s culture, we’re all about sharing stories. We flock to social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to tell our tale through daily photos and to watch the story of others’ lives unfold in our feed.

The more we have access to the story of others, the more we wonder about our own. Comparison is a trap more dangerous than ever before because we are watching the lives of others all.day.long. But there is so much purpose to be found in our own story. And our story doesn’t have to be filled with comparison, guilt, confusion, or regret.

When we intentionally pursue the VALUES, VISION, and MISSION of our own unique family, we don’t have time to compare ourselves to others. So focused on our family mission, we abandon our need to compare and compete. Discovering our family mission, owning it, and bravely living it out allows our story to be strengthened as each chapter unfolds.

Our actions and decisions; the way we live our lives and the things we do or don’t do, tell a story. Each day of our existence—the magnificent and the mundane—collect like words on a page or chapters in a book to tell the story of our lives.

Each person’s life is a story that is telling itself in the living. William Throsby Bridges

A mission statement is a guideline by which we will live our lives and tell our stories. Our family mission statement can be like a compass or a map to guide our way as we navigate our goals and our story.

Writing a family mission statement can seem like an overwhelming task. We’ve broken it down here into 3 simple steps. Set aside time as a family to talk through these important details of your family life, then work together (with careful consideration and prayer) to determine your family mission.

How do you write a family mission statement? 

• Step 1: Begin with your why (family values)

Ask: What do we value as a family? How does the way we spend our time and resources reveal what’s important to us? What does the Bible say we should value?

• Step 2: Decide where you want to be in 12-24 months and 3-5 years from now (cast vision)

Ask: Where do we want to go in the next 12-24 months? What do we want life to look like 3-5 years from now?

• Step 3: Determine how you will get there (family mission)

Ask: What do we need to be doing or how do we need to be living now to get us where we want to go?

Values (why) + Vision (where) = Our Family Mission (how)

Once you’ve got your family mission statement completed, download this printable to write it out and hang it in your home!

We’re making this the year to discover the story God wants to write for our family so we can begin to intentionally live it out in all the areas that matter most!

Have you written your family mission statement? Let us know by sharing it with us on Instagram or Facebook.