Mission Drift

You may be so busy with the day-to-day challenges of leadership that you’ve never stopped to consider: Have we begun a slow drift away from our mission? Do we have the right practices in place to prevent this sort of drift? Peter Greer and Chris Horst have done a favor for you and your organization in their research into the pervasive problem of Mission Drift. Greer and Horst are both in senior leadership roles at Hope International, a Christian microfinance organization that “invests in the dreams of the poor as they proclaim and live the gospel in the world’s underserved communities” (www.hopeinternational.org). As described in the first chapter, the crisis for Hope came when they were offered a substantial multi-year donation, if they would soften their explicitly Christian message. That became a pivotal moment, causing Greer (president) and the board to wrestle with how to respond. It’s a classic challenge for a ministry: “Think of how much good we could do with this donation. They’re not asking us to deny our faith – just to be less overt about it.” Ultimately, Hope walked away from the potential gift, and Greer and Horst launched an extensive research project to understanding the causes of mission drift and what can be done to prevent it. The book points out a number of organizations that slowly drifted away from their mission to the point that they are no longer recognizable as Christian institutions. In fact, it argues that drift will occur unless intentional steps are taken to prevent it. Fortunately, the book also highlights a number of “Mission True” organizations. (Disclaimer: I took exception to one of these examples.) And most helpfully, it clearly articulates the steps that leaders should take to prevent a ministry from drifting away from its mission. These include concrete ideas about hiring practices, selection of board members, interactions with donors, and more. Mission Drift focuses on parachurch ministries, not on the local church. Nevertheless, many of the issues that Greer and Horst address are just as applicable for a pastor or a denominational leader as they are for the president of a faith-based non-profit. After all, what leader hasn’t experienced pressure from a donor or power broker to deviate just slightly from the mission? Of course, this implies crystal clarity about your mission. So are you creating a mission true organization that will resist drift? It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>