March 25thWhat’s Not in the Vision Statement, and What’s Up with That?
This is the second in a series of reflections from Executive Minister Michael Pahl on our new MCM Vision & Mission Statement, approved at our 2026 Gathering.
One of the common questions received from people as we processed together the final drafts of our new MCM Vision and Mission Statement was, “Why isn’t X in there?” And X could be anything from the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective, to “intercultural church,” to a specific mention of Camps with Meaning, to any number of things.
In my last reflection, I noted the way our new Vision and Mission Statement reflects broad themes that surfaced through two years of focus groups, surveys, and more. That points to the goal of a good vision statement: it needs to be broad enough to encompass the variety of specific emphases that might emerge in the coming years, but specific enough to give some focus to our journey together as a community of congregations.
This balance is tricky to achieve, and there will always be differences of opinion about whether we got the balance just right.
Yes, the Confession of Faith is not mentioned specifically in the Vision and Mission Statement, nor are the Mennonite World Conference Shared Convictions. But these are implied in the identity part of the statement, which notes who we are in connection to both Mennonite Church Canada and MWC. The Confession is named in our MCM constitution, and both are named in MC Canada foundational documents. These are also referenced in the MCM board-approved commentary on the Vision and Mission Statement.
Yes, intercultural church is not named directly in the Vision and Mission Statement, which seems odd to some given that this has been identified as a Key Initiative for MC Canada. But that emphasis is also not named in MC Canada’s Vision or Statement of Identity and Purpose—it comes out in strategic priorities, especially as an emphasis for the next few years. This would be the equivalent of MCM naming intercultural church as a priority in a strategic plan, which the MCM board is working on. Also, interculturality is implied in the mention of “diverse people” in the second of our missional priorities, and is named as such in the commentary.
And yes, Camps with Meaning is not specified in the Vision and Mission Statement, and this could seem to go against both our present reality (more than half our collective budget as a regional church goes toward Camps with Meaning) and our desires for ongoing ministry (Camps with Meaning was frequently named in focus groups and surveys as continuing to be an important ministry for us). But the ministry focuses of Camps with Meaning are named in the Vision and Mission Statement: being grounded in the faithful love of our Creator, nurturing healthy congregations, creating spaces for belonging, pursuing hospitality among us and beyond us.
Perhaps you’re starting to see the logic behind this. These and other important priorities for us are in fact reflected in our new Vision and Mission Statement, but we have avoided naming specific programs or written statements—which could possibly change, a little or a lot, in the future.
In other words: a vision broad enough to encompass the variety of specific emphases that might emerge in the coming years, but specific enough to give some focus to our journey together as a community of congregations.
All of this makes me wonder. What new things might God have in store for us which align with our new vision? What current things are we doing together which will carry on for years to come, and which things might need to be re-imagined down the road? What currently unimaginable things might one day need to be imagined?
Through whatever lies ahead, may God give us grace to become “a flourishing community of worshiping, learning, and serving congregations grounded in the faithful love of our Creator, where people can find belonging in the Spirit and follow the Way of Jesus together, doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God.”