They're not gonna catch us. We're on a mission from God.

“Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise, its five year mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life, and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

That may be familiar for some of you as you recall Captain James T. Kirk articulating the mission of his ship and crew. However, you don’t have to be the captain of a spaceship to have a mission.

Corporations, schools, and even churches have mission statements. This is a summary of the purpose of the organization. The entity will evaluate things that compete for its resources (money, time, etc.) and decide which ones are central to the mission. It’s a reminder that there are many things that can be done by the organization, but the best are those that are in line with the mission.

With my students at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, I repeated reinforce the idea that the goal of all preaching and teaching is life change to the glory of God. They know they are longing to see sanctification (and/or justification) among the audience as they strive for life change (cognitive, affective, and/or behavioral) to the glory of God.

That, of course, is my mission whenever I prepare or deliver a sermon ... to see God glorified in the lifes of those who listen as they are changed by the Word of God preached.

However, have you ever heard of a personal mission statement? Have you considered what your own mission is for the short time you are on this planet? I have formulated my own mission statement that I try to use in determining how I will spend my resources.

When I became a Christian my purpose in life changed. Having been brought to God through Christ’s death for me on the cross, I feel compelled to share that message of hope with others. My personal mission statement is that in my relationships and in my resources I would strive “To glorify God by knowing Christ better and to making Him better known.”

Take some time and come up with your own personal mission statement. Think through the priorities in your life and make sure your mission statement keeps the main thing the main thing. As you do, I challenge to you think about where Jesus Christ fits into your mission.

After you’ve made a mission statement, the harder part will be putting it into action. There will be difficult times when you will have to prioritize and sacrifice certain things for the sake of the mission. By God’s grace may you pursue and accomplish your mission.

I'm encouraged that even my boy who is three is learning about his mission at church. Part of the catechism work entails him asking and answering the questions: Who made you? and Why did God make you? But for us as well, God made us and He made us for His glory.

So, your mission, should you choose to accept it . . . come up with a personal mission statement and evaluate that which you do accordingly.

If you've already crafted one, I'd love to hear it. Who knows, it might help the rest of us construct or tweak ours.