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What is the difference between a mission statement and a vision statement? TopNonprofits.com distinguishes them this way:  

Mission Statement (What You Do): A one-sentence statement describing the reason an organization or program exists and used to help guide decisions about priorities, actions, and responsibilities.  

Vision Statement (Desired End-State): A one-sentence statement describing the clear and inspirational long-term desired change resulting from an organization or program’s work. 

For this list, we’ll look at 50 unique church mission statements collected from churches notable for their size, influence, or communications ability. Details on how this list was compiled can be found by scrolling down to the bottom of the page. 

For examples of vision statements, check out 30 examples here. 

General Findings 

  • The best church mission statements are clear, memorable, and concise. 
  • Church mission statements are often much too long to remember. 
  • The average length of the church mission statements here is a full 16.3 words compared to only 15.3 on Top Nonprofit’s 50 Example Mission Statements 
  • The shortest church mission statement contains only 2 words (Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale) 
  • The longest church mission statement from this list contains 42 words (Second Baptist Church Houston) 
  • A number of churches base their mission (and/or vision) statements around the great commission, but see the difference between Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale (2 words) and Second Baptist Church’s 42-word versions. 

50 Examples of Effective Church Mission Statements 

  1. Calvary Chapel (Ft. Lauderdale, FL): Making Disciples (2 words) 
  2. Westover Hills (San Antonio, TX): Making New, Making Great (4) 
  3. The Rock (San Diego, CA): Save, Equip, and Send (4) 
  4. City on a Hill (Melbourne, Australia): Know Jesus and Make Jesus Known (6) 
  5. Highpoint Church (Memphis, TN): Love God, Love People, Make Disciples (6) 
  6. Christ Church of the Valley (Peoria, AZ): To reach the valley for Christ (6) 
  7. The Church of the Resurrection UMC (Leawood, KS): To Know, Love and Serve God (6)
  8. Celebration Church (Jacksonville, FL): Leading people to experience a God-First Life (7) 
  9. Southeast Christian Church (Louisville, KY): Connecting people to Jesus and one another (7) 
  10. Red Rock Church (Littleton, CO): We exist to make Heaven more crowded (7)
  11. Missio Dei Church (Cincinnati, OH): Establish and multiply gospel-centered, city-focused, church communities (7) 
  12. Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX): To Reach Up, Reach Out, and Reach In (8) 
  13. Emmanuel Church (Brighton, England): Helping people find their way back to God (8)
  14. Prism Church (Pasadena, CA): To revive believers, reach friends, and renew culture (8) 
  15. Community Christian Church (Naperville, IL): Helping people find their way back to God (8) 
  16. Brooklyn Tabernacle (Brooklyn, NY): A church for worshipping God and loving others (8) 
  17. Eaglebrook Church (White Bear Lake, MN): Empowered by God to reach others for Christ (8) 
  18. Granger Community Church (Granger, IN): Helping people take their next step toward Christ…together (9) 
  19. East 91st Street Christian Center (Indianapolis, IN): To help people take their next steps with Jesus (9) 
  20. LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK): To lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ (10) 
  21. National Community Church (Washington, DC): To make the name of Jesus famous in our generation (10) 
  22. North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, GA): To lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ (10) 
  23. Spanish River Church (Boca Raton, FL): To lead people into an authentic, life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ (11) 
  24. Glad Tidings (Omaha, NE): A church where anyone can be transformed by the story of Jesus (12)
  25. Central Christian Church (Henderson, NV): We exist to introduce people to Jesus and help them follow Him (12) 
  26. Austin Stone Community Church (Austin, TX): To love God, love the church, love the city, and love the nations (13) 
  27. Elevation Church (Matthews, NC): We exist so that people far from God will be raised to life in Christ (15) 
  28. Seacoast Church (Mt Pleasant, SC): To help people find God, grow their faith, discover their purpose, and make a difference (15) 
  29. Biltmore Baptist (Arden, NC): We exist to glorify God, by making disciples that reach up, reach in, and reach out (16) 
  30. Church of the Highlands (Birmingham, AL): We’re here to help people know God, find freedom, discover their purpose, and make a difference (16) 
  31. Gateway Scottsdale (Scottsdale, AZ): Helping every person believe in Jesus, belong to a family, become a disciple and build His kingdom (17) 
  32. Potential Church (Cooper City, FL): To partner with people to reach their God potential, in order to impact our world for good (17) 
  33. Dream City Church (Phoenix, AZ): To lead people into a fully-devoted relationship with Jesus Christ by loving people, cultivating community, and inspiring hope (18) 
  34. The Potter’s House (Dallas, TX): We are the voice and the hand that encourages people to change their lives with hope, comfort, and peace (19) 
  35. Gateway Church (Southlake, TX): To help each person at Gateway believe in Jesus, belong to family, become a follower, and build God’s kingdom. (19) 
  36. Perimeter Church (Duluth, GA): To make and deploy mature and equipped followers of Christ for the sake of Family, Community and Global Transformation (19) 
  37. Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (Ft Lauderdale, FL): We equip our people to develop a Biblical worldview, share the Gospel, build healthy relationships, transform communities, and renew culture (20) 
  38. Mosaic Church (Hollywood, CA): To be a church that lives by faith, is known by love, and is a voice of hope to the world (21) 
  39. Glide (San Francisco, CA): To create a radically inclusive, just and loving community mobilized to alleviate suffering and break the cycles of poverty and marginalization (21) 
  40. Mars Hill (Grandville, MI): Living out the way of Jesus in missional communities, announcing the arrival of his kingdom, working for measurable change among the oppressed (22) 
  41. Woodlands Church (The Woodlands, TX): To help people experience Christ rather than man’s creation of religion, so they can grow strong in Christ and take the Christ experience to the world (26) 
  42. Hillsong (Sydney, Australia): To reach and influence the world by building a large Christ-centred, Bible-based church, changing mindsets and empowering people to lead and impact in every sphere of life (27) 
  43. James River Assembly (Ozark, MO): Our mission is to help lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ by creating a dynamic environment for authentic worship and effective communication while developing genuine community with each other (32) 
  44. Redeemer Presbyterian Church (New York, NY): To build a great city for all people through a gospel movement that brings personal conversion, community formation, social justice and cultural renewal to New York City and, through it, to the world (33) 
  45. Christ Fellowship (Miami, FL): Our mission is to make fully devoted followers of Christ. We want to be a part of witnessing lives saved by the grace and truth of Jesus Christ and helping believers grow as disciples. (34) 
  46. The Journey (St Louis, MO): We are a diverse community centered on Jesus Christ, seeking to wholly enjoy His grace, faithfully embody His love for one another, and boldly engage our culture with His truth, from our neighborhoods to the nations (36) 
  47. New Hope Christian Fellowship (Honolulu, HI): To present the Gospel of Jesus Christ in such a way that turns non-Christians into converts, converts into disciples, and disciples into mature, fruitful leaders, who will, in turn, go into the world and reach others for Christ (38) 
  48. Prestonwood Baptist Church (Plano, TX): To glorify God by introducing Jesus Christ as Lord to as many people as possible and to develop them in Christian living using the most effective means to impact the world, making an eternal difference in this generation (38) 
  49. Cornerstone Church of San Diego (National City, CA): Turning the hearts of youth and families to God and each other. Developing our God-given potential in order to win in every area of our lives. Advancing the Kingdom of God, first throughout our circles of influence, then the nations abroad (40) 
  50. Second Baptist Church (Houston, TX): “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always.” Matthew 28:19-20 (42) 

How the List Was Compiled 

  • Churches were sorted based on their length and organized from shortest to longest (based on the number of words). 
  • The number in parenthesis at the end of each line depicts the number of non-branded words included in their church mission statement. 
  • In order to standardize the list, we removed things like “[Brand’s] mission is” or “The mission statement of [Brand]” when it created redundancy.