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Church vision statements can bring meaning and direction to your team. According to Top Non Profits, a church vision statement is a short statement describing the clear and inspirational long-term desired change resulting from an organization or program’s work.
Defining your church’s desired change helps everyone to be on the same page. So what does a good vision statement look like? How do you go about writing a church vision statement? Is it possible to define your church’s goal in one sentence? Should it be a long sentence or a short sentence?
Keep in mind that a church vision statement is different than a church mission statement. For more on church mission statements, check out this article.
Here are findings and examples of church vision statement examples to get you started.
General Findings
- The best vision statements are inspirational, clear, memorable, and concise.
- The average number of words in these church vision statements is 15 words. Your church vision statement does not have to be long and strenuous. You want your church staff and church members to see the vision of what your church will look like in the future.
- The shortest vision statement from this list contains only 4 words (Westover Hills)
- The longest vision statement from this list contains 127 words (Planetshakers)
- Many churches intentionally or unintentionally blend elements of mission statements (what they do) into their vision statements (the desired end state).
30 Church Vision Statement Examples
- Westover Hills (San Antonio, TX): A Place for Everyone. (4 words)
- The Rock (San Diego, CA): Living out what we believe. (5 words)
- City on a Hill (Melbourne, Australia): Knowing Jesus and Making Jesus Known. (6 words)
- East 91st Street Christian Center (Indianapolis, IN): Helping people take next steps with Jesus. (7 words)
- Brainerd Baptist (Chattanooga, TN): From the Scenic City to the World. (7 Words)
- Church of Christ the King (Brighton, England): Helping people find their way back to God. (8 words)
- Christ Church of the Valley (Peoria, AZ): A place where faith and real life intersect. (8 words)
- HighPoint Church (Memphis, TN): We believe this is His vision for us. (8 words)
- Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (Ft Lauderdale, FL): A Gospel-centered church that equips culture shaping Christians. (9 words)
- Missio Dei Church (Cincinnati, OH): We are a gospel-centered, city-focused, church community. (9 words)
- Mars Hill (Grandville, MI): A Jesus people for the sake of the world. (9 words)
- NewSpring Church (Anderson, SC): We exist to connect people to Jesus and each other. (10 words)
- The Journey (St Louis, MO): Our city awakened to and transformed by the love of Jesus. (11 words)
- Gateway Church (Southlake, TX): To see people saved, healed, set free, discipled, equipped, empowered, and serving. (12 words)
- Christ Fellowship (Miami, FL): We’re a multi-cultural church that seeks to make fully devoted followers of Christ. (13 words)
- Austin Stone Community Church (Austin, TX): To love God, love the church, love the city, and love the nations. (13 words)
- LifeChurch (Edmond, OK): To make a lasting difference in your life, in our community, and in the world. (15 words)
- Hillsong (Sydney, Australia): Hillsong is a church that believes in Jesus, a church that loves God and people. (15 words)
- Willow Creek (South Barrington, IL): To be a biblically functional community of believers so Christ’s redemptive purposes can be accomplished in the world. (18 words)
- Perimeter Church (Johns Creek, GA): To make and deploy mature and equipped followers of Christ for the sake of Family, Community and Global Transformation. (19 words)
- Glide (San Francisco, CA): GLIDE is a radically inclusive, just and loving community mobilized to alleviate suffering and break the cycles of poverty and marginalization. (21 words)
- Gateway Scottsdale (Scottsdale, AZ): At Gateway, we are committed to helping every person believe in Jesus, belong to a family, become a disciple and build His kingdom. (23 words)
- Glad Tidings (Omaha, NE): Good News is a church where anyone can be transformed by the story of Jesus. We are a multicultural Christian congregation that meets in the Aksarben area. (27 words)
- Saddleback (Lake Forest, CA): To welcome the community with open arms. To train an army of people who are passionate about living out God’s purpose for their lives. To then give that army an outlet for sharing the love of Christ through outreach and missions. (41 words)
- Redeemer Presbyterian Church (New York, NY): The Redeemer family of churches and ministries exist to help build a great city for all people through a movement of the gospel that brings personal conversion, community formation, social justice, and cultural renewal to New York City and, through it, the world. (43 words)
- Celebration Church (Jacksonville, FL): “Therefore go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you, always, to the end of the age.” -Matthew 28:19-20 NIV (50 words)
- FairHaven (Centerville, OH): We believe everyone needs the hope Jesus offers, so our passion is to help people find that hope and grow in a relationship with Him. We emphasize grace and acceptance, yet we’re equally passionate about truth, as we help people understand who Jesus is and how to take the next right step in their journey of faith. (57 words)
- Biltmore Baptist (Arden, NC): “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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, even to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20 (62 words)
- The Potter’s House (Dallas, TX): We are a ministry founded on biblical principles. We serve in the spirit of excellence with integrity and compassion for our community, our nation, and our world. We have established a reputation for reaching the lost and broken and to minister and serve them with the utmost level of dignity and respect. We are recognized for our dedication to academic and spiritual excellence and mentoring and supporting spiritual leaders. Our environment inspires maximum participation, promotes personal satisfaction, and supports and molds effective leadership. (83 words)
- Planetshakers (Melbourne, Australia): To bring Christ to their world because… “the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow to them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for morning, and a garment of praise instead of the spirit of despair. They will be called mighty oaks, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” – Isaiah 61:1-3 (127 words)
Things to Keep in Mind
If you are struggling with the idea of mission statement versus vision statement, Bain and Company provide a great analysis of the two:
A Mission Statement defines the company’s business, its objectives, and its approach to reach those objectives. A Vision Statement describes the desired future position of the company.
Your church vision statement should also complement your church mission statement. They should have the same heart and perspective so your church has unified goals. You want everyone to be running in the same direction so you can make an impact on your community.
This communal impact is what drives your vision statement. The purpose of a church vision statement is to keep you heading in the right direction as you lay the groundwork for the future of your church.
How This List Was Compiled
- Churches were sorted based on the length and organized from shortest to longest (based on the number of words).
