Before a church can explore corporate issues of mission and vision, those within the church must first disciple its members to a discovery of their own personal vision, mission and purpose. Without this, leading the church in a corporate discovery process can fraction the church and destroy unity.

The personal journey begins with a storyboarding process, recalling events in our lives (both good and bad) that had a major influence on our development. This can be done with simple post-it notes, rearranging as necessary. From this, these notes can be grouped in phases. Looking at this and sharing this with trusted friends or a spouse can help you see patterns of how God has been working in your life for a specific purpose.

Work toward developing a personal vision statement. A personal vision statement is a picture of how you see the world, your dream. It draws passion. Luther saw a reformation of the church. John Knox said “Give me Scotland or I die.” Woolman saw his denomination free of slaves. Jesus gave his vision statement when the disciples of John came and asked if He was the promised Messiah.

"....the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf  hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”

Matthew 11:4-5 NIV

There is also an explicit vision statement for us contained in his prayer in Gethsemane (John 17).

Write your own personal vision statement. Don’t worry about the quality of the statement or the specific working. Your personal vision statement should capture your passion and burden as you see it from your personal journey up to this time. It is a word that is spoken to you from the depths of your intimacy with God.

A mission statement, in contrast, tells the who, what, why, how, and when. Jesus gave the disciples their mission statement in Matt. 28:19-20, and passage now known as the Great Commission. Sometimes the “why” is broken off into a separate purpose statement. Try writing your personal mission statement.

Finally, you need a statement of your core values. Core values define your preferences, priorities, assumptions, and beliefs. Someone might see the core values as the boundaries that define how you will act out your vision. In reality, the core values are often defined before the vision and mission statements, as the priorities and beliefs defined in the core values shape the vision and mission statements and are often contained in them.