vision statement thoughts

Sarah,

I am chewing on your idea for the vision statement. My first question is: what is our focus for His Heart? Is it on churches? Empowering families to be the visible gospel? Kids in crisis? Or?

I have looked up vision/mission statements from other organizations to try to sort out some thoughts, and it seems that many of the vision statements have something to do with kids/families and who our heart is for, and the mission is more tactical and how we accomplish our vision (i.e. "being the visible gospel of Christ" or "through the body of Christ").

Let me know what you think. I'm sure there are a lot of other vision/mission statements, so feel free to add more if that is helpful, but here are some that I have found from other organizations:

• 4Kids of South Florida

  Vision: A Home for Every Child in Crisis

  Mission: Providing Hope...For Kids in Crisis ...One Child at a Time.  Protection    Provision    Permanent Solutions

• Hope for 100

  Mission: Hope for 100 exists to challenge and support local churches to obey God's Word by providing loving, Christian homes for 100 children through adoption or foster care.

• Project 1.27

  Vision: “No Waiting Children in Colorado foster care by 2014″

  Mission: Project 1.27 is “a Ministry from the Churches of Colorado to the Orphans of Colorado”. In fulfillment of a Godly calling, we serve children by producing successful adoptions between families in church communities and legally free children in the Colorado foster care system. We recruit, train, and support adoptive parents, support teams, churches, counties, and other partners to provide hope for all children and benefit our state and society.

• The Call

  Immediate Vision: No waiting children in Pulaski County by November 2009.

  Mission: To educate, equip and encourage the Christian community to provide a future and a hope for the children in foster care.

• Bethany Christian Services

  Mission: Bethany Christian Services manifests the love and compassion of Jesus Christ by protecting and enhancing the lives of children and families through quality social services.

• The Faith Connection

  Statement on Home Page: We are helping churches help children in foster care.

• Casey Family Programs

  Statement on home page: Casey Family Programs provides and improves - and ultimately prevents the need for - foster care.

• Antioch Adoptions

  Mission: To place infants and children regardless of ethnicity, age or special needs into loving Christian adoptive homes, and to remove barriers to adoption - financial, perceptual, and practical

• Embrace

  Tagline: A mission to reclaim the care of orphans by the church

  Welcome page: Embrace is a community of like minded families, individuals, and churches passionate about the needs and care of orphans in America.

• Christian Alliance for Orphans

  Vision: Every orphan experiencing God’s unfailing love and knowing Jesus as Savior

  Mission: Motivate and unify the body of Christ to live out God's mandate to care for the orphan

• iCare Foundation

  Tagline: Every Child in a Loving Home

• Tapestry

  About page intro: Tapestry is a community of families and individuals that are connected in some way or another by the common bonds of adoption and foster care.