I am grateful for the wisdom of IBEC Board member Dave Kier. He is a successful businessperson both in the eyes of God and his customers. Dave is making a difference in his home area in the Midwest as well as in countries in Africa and Central Asia.
Larry W. Sharp, BAM Support Specialist, IBEC Ventures
Larry.Sharp@ibecventures.com
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“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10 NASB®
Do you have a mission statement? There is some confusion on the difference between a “Vision Statement” and a “Mission Statement”. A missionary may have a vision for what he or she intends to accomplish on a foreign field. A businessperson may have a vision of what his business could become. A vision statement states where one is putting his energy to accomplish building the ministry, business, learning institution or any enterprise.
A mission statement is critical to the vision statement. The stated mission of the person or organization states why it exists and is the bottom line driving foundational principle(s) for its existence. When I had the feed company, I stated our mission was to become an “indispensably ally to producers”. This is why we existed; not to see how big we could become, but how well we could serve the customers. The next phrase declared we will “honor God in all we do”. We existed to be a servant to our customers and as we did, and in all we did, we would do so to honor our God.
Our vision was to serve the customer by striving to become an excellent company. Thus, we embarked on becoming a learning company who learned how to purchase the highest quality ingredients, develop technology to know their nutrient values, have world class nutritionists formulate for us, surrounded ourselves with the best of advisors, worked with suppliers to deserve their best price, exploited technology to the fullest to become a low cost manufacturer and to provide the best of service, and have a workforce who enjoys serving others. Profits follow the pursuit of excellence. In our spiritual lives, contentment is the fruit of faithfulness.
My personal mission statement is Acts 1:8. Over the years, God has opened doors for me to live out my mission. My giftedness is not as an evangelist, but as one to come alongside others (including organizations), to encourage and assist them in spreading the good news. I love the spoken word of God written for us and enjoy sharing my insights from it. A question asked by young people is how they could be involved in the Lord’s work beyond their local church. I told them to simply be available for whatever the Lord may have for them, have a servant’s heart, and God will open doors.
What drives you? What is the foundational principle you are building your career, your life or even your family upon? The lust for more, or the yearning to serve the Lord?