Prepare: You will need a few mission statements from companies, churches and organizations. I included a few, but you may want others, too. For the worship station people will just need paper and pen or pencil.
Ask the children if they know what a mission statement is. You might get a few interesting answers, but see if any of them can really tell you what a mission statement is.
Yes, a mission statement is a simple message that tells the world who you are and what you are about. Here are a few mission statements from companies and organizations that you might know:
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.
The ELCA’s mission statement is “Marked with the cross of Christ forever, we are claimed, gathered and sent for the sake of the world.”
The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.
You should also include your own churches mission statement!
Ok, so why are we talking about mission statements? I’ll tell you! I think that this passage from Isaiah might be Jesus’ mission statement. Here, listen to the first part of it again –
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
Doesn’t that sound like Jesus? Jesus even reads that passage in his home synagogue and says, “That’s me! That is what I came to do!”
That is the Jesus that we prepare for during Advent, the Jesus that will bring good news, bind us up, give us freedom and comfort us, so go get ready!
God with us, bring us freedom and release. Bring us healing and hope. Bring us light and life and joy. Amen
Advent Mission statement time! You can have the paper in the seats or you can set up a station for people to move to.
Think about how you prepare your own heart for this season. What do you look forward to? In what ways are you more generous in Advent and Christmas? What would it be like to prepare your heart in that way every day?
Write down a few words or sentences that describe how you would like to prepare for every day. Something that talks about how you would like to treat others, how you would like to see the world, and what you can do to make it better every day.
This is your mission statement.
Go and be God’s light in the dark.
~GB
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