I.M.P.A.C.T. Church Empowerment Program

A partnership with Pastor Lee Jenkins, the Stewardship Coach, and Allan Bell - CPA, CMA, MBA, Nsites founder and creator

Foundation · Module 1 of 9

M1 — Mission

Define why the church exists, whom it is called to serve, what makes it distinctive, where it is going, and which priorities should govern decisions.

55/100Academy home
M2 Management →

Nine M curriculum version 1.0 · Nine M methodology, content, exercises and deliverables by Pastor Lee Jenkins.

Official outcome

Mission and Strategic Identity Brief

  • Sharpened mission statement distinguished from the universal church purpose and the church's activity list
  • Church Fingerprint Statement naming the gifts, experience, assets, relationships and demonstrated impact unique to this congregation
  • Community and Priority-Audience Profile drawing on demographic, psychographic, relational and ministry information
  • Alignment and Opportunity Analysis comparing community needs to current ministry activity
  • Three-year vision statement approved by leadership
  • Three to five twelve-month priorities, each with a named owner and a success measure
  • Leadership Alignment Record documenting where the team agrees and where it does not yet agree
  • Mission Decision Filter leadership commits to applying to new ministry opportunities and requests
  • Documented gaps between the current mission language and the church's lived, observable practice
  • 90-day action plan naming who closes each gap, by when, and how progress will be reviewed

Suggested duration: 4 weeks · about 6 hours of leadership time · Owner: Executive Pastor · Coach: Pastor Lee Jenkins · Approval: Coach review

55of 100

Module health

At risk

Baseline 55 → follow-up 60

Module purpose

Suggested leadership time: About 6 hours of leadership time

Every congregation carries a universal calling shared by the whole Church, but leadership too often stops there and never names the distinctive, local expression of that calling that God has entrusted to their specific fellowship. Mission work in this module pushes leadership past comfortable generalities like 'we exist to make disciples' and into the harder, more useful work of naming exactly whom this church is positioned to serve, what makes this church's approach different from the congregation down the road, and which few priorities deserve the calendar, the budget and the pulpit in the next twelve months. Without this clarity, ministries multiply, volunteers burn out chasing good ideas that are not the church's ideas, and stewardship conversations have no anchor to return to when trade-offs must be made.

The work of this module produces the Mission and Strategic Identity Brief, the foundational document every other Nine M module will reference. It brings together a sharpened mission statement, a documented church fingerprint, a clear picture of the community and priority audience the church is called to reach, a three-year vision, a short list of twelve-month priorities, a record of how aligned leadership actually is, and a decision filter leaders can hold up against every new opportunity. Because this brief becomes the reference point for stewardship, staffing and ministry decisions across the whole program, the four lessons in this module deserve unhurried, well-prepared sessions rather than a single rushed retreat afternoon.

Official outcome — Mission and Strategic Identity Brief

By the end of this module, leadership will have completed and formally reviewed the Mission and Strategic Identity Brief: a written mission statement distinguished from the church's universal purpose and its activity list; a documented Church Fingerprint Statement describing the combination of gifts, experience, assets, relationships and demonstrated impact unique to this congregation; a Community and Priority-Audience Profile built from demographic, psychographic, relational and ministry information; a three-year vision statement; three to five twelve-month priorities with named owners; a Leadership Alignment Record showing where the team currently agrees and disagrees; a Mission Decision Filter leadership commits to applying to new opportunities; a documented list of gaps; and a 90-day action plan assigning next steps, owners and review dates.

Deliverable component checklist

  1. 1. Sharpened mission statement distinguished from the universal church purpose and the church's activity list
  2. 2. Church Fingerprint Statement naming the gifts, experience, assets, relationships and demonstrated impact unique to this congregation
  3. 3. Community and Priority-Audience Profile drawing on demographic, psychographic, relational and ministry information
  4. 4. Alignment and Opportunity Analysis comparing community needs to current ministry activity
  5. 5. Three-year vision statement approved by leadership
  6. 6. Three to five twelve-month priorities, each with a named owner and a success measure
  7. 7. Leadership Alignment Record documenting where the team agrees and where it does not yet agree
  8. 8. Mission Decision Filter leadership commits to applying to new ministry opportunities and requests
  9. 9. Documented gaps between the current mission language and the church's lived, observable practice
  10. 10. 90-day action plan naming who closes each gap, by when, and how progress will be reviewed

Learning objectives and completion requirements

Learning objectives

  • • Distinguish universal purpose, local mission and activity lists
  • • Name the church's distinctive fingerprint from evidence
  • • Understand the community and priority audience
  • • Translate mission into measurable priorities and a decision filter

Completion requirements

  • • All four lessons marked complete
  • • All four exercises submitted
  • • Required evidence uploaded
  • • Named principal deliverable generated and approved
  • • 90-day action plan created with owners and dates
  • • Coach review recorded

Lessons

Four complete lessons. Each produces one named artifact for the official outcome.

  1. Lesson 1 — From Doing Church to Living the Mission

    Distinguish a universal church purpose, a distinctive local mission, and a list of activities. · 75 minutes · produces Leadership Alignment Map

    CompleteOpen full lesson

  2. Lesson 2 — Discovering the Church's Fingerprint

    Identify the combination of gifts, experience, assets, relationships and demonstrated impact that makes the church distinctive. · 90 minutes · produces Church Fingerprint Statement

    CompleteOpen full lesson

  3. Lesson 3 — Understanding the Community and Priority Audience

    Use demographic, psychographic, relational and ministry information to understand the people the church is positioned to serve. · 75 minutes · produces Alignment and Opportunity Analysis

    Not completeOpen full lesson

  4. Lesson 4 — Turning Mission into Strategic Direction

    Translate mission into measurable priorities and a repeatable decision filter. · 90 minutes · produces Three-year vision, twelve-month priorities and Mission Decision Filter

    Not completeOpen full lesson
M2 Management →