A vision, as you might expect, is purposefully general. It can be so broad, in fact, that it can entail a number of pathways to achieve it. This is where an organizational mission comes in. A mission is a purpose statement for how one specific organization is going to fulfill a vision.

For example, imagine you live in a town where you notice that a growing number of young people in their 20’s and 30’s report lacking purpose in life. Having passed through the modern education industrial complex, they lack the thoughtfulness and tools to think about what it would be like to craft a life built on enduring values. They have been trained to think that life is about maximizing income, not living for a higher purpose.

What’s more, these young adults in your town display a noticeable lack of creativity. They do not read, build, explore, serve, or sing for fun. They have graduated college and landed decent paying jobs, but their leisure is short-circuiting as free time is routinely consumed through tech addiction passing as “catching up on shows.”

As life’s big challenges begin to set in, these young people realize they do not know what they think about complex political issues. They are left paralyzed by the suffering that comes from the illness of a loved one. They are not sure whether God is actually good and really involved in their day to day lives. 

Upon noticing such a problem in your town looking out, you further observe looking in that a version of yourself shares some of these deficiencies. Meanwhile, an aspirational picture begins to emerge in your mind of a young person who lives and looks decidedly different. “What if I drove down the street and saw a young man or woman living like…this?” you ask yourself. “How would this happen?” 

Thus begins your journey toward Christian, classical education and perhaps even starting a school toward this end.

In this article, I will explore how schools can strengthen their mission statements and then align their communities with this overarching purpose. The goal is that through achieving strong organizational clarity, schools in the Christian classical education renewal movement can better deliver on what they have set out to achieve and then be faithful to this work for the longterm.

Many Missions, One Vision

There are hundreds of Christian, classical schools in the United States. I recently heard that there were 140 of such schools in 2010 and now there are over 700. This is amazing progress for the movement in just 13 years. For each one of these schools, there is a distinct mission or purpose, stating why it exists. Consider this small sampling, which exemplifies the variety:

• We exist to glorify God by cultivating students of wisdom and virtue through a Christ-centered, academically robust classical education.
• We exist to assist parents in their duty of biblically training their children by offering distinctly Christ-centered and Classical academic instruction.
• We exist to glorify God by equipping students with the tools necessary to pursue a lifetime of learning so that they may discern, reason and defend truth in service to our Lord, Jesus Christ.
• We exist to inspire students with an education founded on a Christian worldview, informed by the classical tradition, and approached with diligence and joy. 
• We exist to support families and churches by providing an academically excellent classical Christian education that cultivates knowledge, wisdom, eloquence, and godly character and equips students with the tools of learning that will last a lifetime.

What you may notice above is that each of these missions emphasizes a different aspect of the Christian, classical education renewal movement. Some underscore the importance of partnership between church, family, and school. Others emphasize that bringing glory to God ought to be the “why” of the mission no matter what kind of Christian organization. But what all these schools have in common if we were to press them is a shared vision about the sort of alumni they seek to develop through their programs.

The Eight-Word Mission Statement

Interestingly, in the organizational development world, there is growing interest in what has been called the “eight-word mission statement.” (or even seven words). It is exactly what it sounds like: a brief concise purpose statement that captures the “why” of an organization with stunning simplicity.

Here’s the formula: A verb, a target population, and an outcome that implies something to measure. As Kevin Starr, a though leader in social entrepreneurship, puts it,

Save kids’ lives in Uganda. Rehabilitate coral reefs in the Western Pacific. Prevent maternal-child transmission of HIV in Africa. Get Zambian farmers out of poverty. These statements tell us exactly what the organization has set out to accomplish. Once we’ve got it, we know whether they are working on something that fits our own mission, and we have a useful starting point for any subsequent conversations.

Stanford Social Innovation Review (https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_eight_word_mission_statement#)

Starr identifies two specific strengths of this approach to crafting mission statements. First, it focuses on concrete results, thereby avoiding vague language. Second, it spotlights the “what,” not the “how.”

I suspect that one reason mission statements at Christian, classical schools can arguably be too long, such as in the examples above, is that proponents of this type of education cannot help themselves but include the “how.” Notice how many of the mission statements above include the specifics of the education they offer. They are drifting into the way they will accomplish their mission, rather than focusing on the central purpose.

If we take Starr’s advice, here might be a compelling alternative: “Cultivate students of wisdom and virtue.” Now, this may feel overly general. After all, it fails to to say anything about classical or Christian education. Is this a problem? Not necessarily. If you are committed to keeping your school’s mission focused solely on the “what,” then you must resist the temptation to detail method and instead be ultra clear on the chief purpose, which for our schools is about the formation of a particular kind of student.

Readers may not fully buy into the idea of an eight-word mission statement. For one, it can feel at times like it fuses vision and mission, future state and pathway, in a way that conflicts with the traditional distinction described above. Regardless of where you land, the point is that, when crafting a mission statement, you want to achieve maximal clarity on why your school exists. The more clarity you gain, the more you can align your school community with this core focus.

Creating Missional Alignment

Once a school has its core focus articulated via a mission statement, it can be to think about how this mission is to serve as the aligning rails for all activity within the organization. In Wisdom and Eloquence (Crossway, 2006), Robert LittleJohn and Chuck Evans define alignment as “like-mindedness about the essential qualities of the school and a common understanding that everything that happens under the school’s banner is informed or required by its core mission. We often use the term ‘vertical alignment,’ or the insistence that every activity, every decision, flows figuratively downhill from the school’s mission.” (203).

Admittedly, I have been puzzled by this concept at times. It has not always been clear to me how all the various activities of the school are “informed” or “required” by its core mission. For some activities, of course, it is obvious. Logic class, for example, flows downhill from a classical mission in that logic, or dialectic, is one of the three language arts of the classical trivium. A Shakespeare performance is informed by the mission insofar as Shakespearean drama holds a major place in the annals of western literature.

But what about curriculum nights? School picnics? Admissions welcome packets? Capital campaigns? Employee benefits packages? It is not obvious that these flow downhill from a distinctively Christian classical mission. After all, these activities exist in other schools. So what is the difference?

The Aligned Community

Here it is important to underscore the distinction between “required” and “informed.” To “require” is to need for a particular purpose while to “inform” is to give shape to. Every activity at a school must either be necessary to the school’s core mission or be shaped by it. Let us consider a few examples for each of these categories.

I can think of a number of necessities, required ingredients, for a classical school to achieve its mission. The school must have a wide and varied curriculum of classical literature, art, music, and history. Additionally, it must focus its instruction on training students in the liberal arts, the complex skills of reading, thinking, speaking, calculating, and creating. And it must include in its objectives an emphasis on the character formation of its students rather than solely going for more head knowledge. These examples, we might say, exist in the center core of the mission. Take away one of these qualities and you risk achieving the purpose you have set out to accomplish.

Then there are the activities of the school that are not required by the school’s mission, but must at the very least be significantly shaped by it. Take a capital campaign, for example. Schools cost money to operate, and strategic decisions to take the school to the next level often require significant funds. To raise this capital, one must share with potential donors a compelling vision for how their gifts will advance the school’s mission. What will make up the content of this vision? Whatever is decided, the explicit connection must be made to the school’s mission of cultivating students of wisdom and virtue. Otherwise you are raising money for something else.

Let us look at another example and drill a little deeper: the girls volleyball team. How can we align this program with the school’s core mission? We begin by putting the mission in front of us: cultivating students of wisdom and virtue. We then begin thinking about what wisdom and virtue look like for student athletes in the volleyball program. Wisdom may have to do with their approach to competition on the court as followers of Christ. Or it could connect to how students interact with one another during practice. A focus on virtue could influence how much effort students put into practice each day or deciding as a team they will never give up no matter the odds.

By evaluating each program or activity in your school against the rubric of your school’s mission, you can align your entire community to this core focus. This keeps all constituents on the same page and rowing in the same direction. As LittleJohn and Evans sum it up nicely: “A vertically aligned school can be confident that each member of the community understands the school’s mission and his or her role in helping to achieve that mission” (203).

Conclusion

Schools are complex operations. They consist of many types of constituents: board members, parents, faculty and staff, students, and alumni. They are also comprised of all sorts of activities, ranging from hot lunch to curriculum development to facilities management to the actual instruction in the classroom. Consequently, keeping the school united is a crucial task and it all begins with a clear mission statement. Once this purpose statement is articulated clearly and points toward an aspirational future state, the vision, comprehensive alignment must be carried out. By taking inventory of every activity and decision at the school and determining alignment with the mission, school leaders can bring unity and direction to their communities that will spark momentum and a sense of confidence for what the future holds.

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What is this purpose? Education is about coming alongside students made in God’s image and helping them achieve their God-given potential. It begins with the question, “Who is this person that sits before me?” and goes on to probe both the limits and possibilities of her growth. Consequently, education is a branch of applied ethics, grounded in a particular conception of human flourishing, both individually and corporately. Like Kant’s categorical imperatives, we must ask ourselves, “If I were to educate every human person in this way, what sort of world would result?” 

Through asking questions like this, we can arrive at a way of educating that is counter-cultural, inspirational, and robustly biblical. This approach will take seriously the image-bearing status of our students and invite them into the good life as defined within a broader biblical framework of human flourishing. As a result, it will prepare the next generation of people like William Wilberforce and Mother Teresa, men and women equipped to lead and ready to serve no matter the cost.

Of course, this sort of quality education comes with a budget. To give students the attention and support they need calls for a sufficient number of well-trained and godly faculty. It is also dependent upon a well-developed curriculum, a safe and reliable facility, and supplies. This all costs money.

Like most non-profits, Christian, classical schools rely on the generosity of donors who believe in the mission to deliver the outcomes of the education. The process of partnering with donors to fund the mission, known as fundraising, can be a touchy subject, both for the giver and receiver. In this blog article, I will explore the relationship between education and fundraising, showing how the vision for education we seek to promote here at Educational Renaissance offers some help guidance for how we can provide for it financially. 

Science of Relations, Including Money

Earlier this week, I met with my colleague about an Upper School course we are designing on applied theology. We brainstormed objectives for the course like implementing spiritual disciplines, growing in awareness of personal vocation, mapping out convictions that align with faith and virtue, and developing a biblical worldview on key ethical questions. While we were in the flow of our brainstorm, my colleague wisely suggested that we include a unit on the theology of money. I responded immediately that I thought this was a great idea. We do not often reflect theologically on money–what is and how it can be used to bring glory to God. And yet these are precisely the sort of questions one could explore in an “Applied Theology” course. Press pause on the hypostatic union for a moment; what should we do about bitcoin? 

In A Spirituality of Fundraising (Upper Room Books, 2010), Henry Nouwen observes that money is a central reality in our lives, beginning when we are children (28). It is likely that our view of money is influenced by family upbringing more than anything else. Each of us grow up and develop a particular relationship with money just as we do with other facets of the created order.

This relational existence is precisely what prompted Charlotte Mason to ultimately define education as “the science of relations.” She writes,

A child should be brought up to have relations of force with earth and water, should run and ride, swim and skate, lift and carry; should know texture, and work in material; should know by name, and where and how they live at any rate, the things of the earth about him, its birds and beasts and creeping things, its herbs and trees; should be in touch with the literature, art and thought of the past and the present. I do not mean that he should know all these things; but he should feel, when he reads of it in the newspapers, the thrill which stirred the Cretan peasants when the frescoes in the palace of King Minos were disclosed to the labour of their spades. He should feel the thrill, not from mere contiguity, but because he has with the past the relationship of living pulsing thought; and, if blood be thicker than water, thought is more quickening than blood. He must have a living relationship with the present, its historic movement, its science, literature, art, social needs and aspirations. In fact, he must have a wide outlook, intimate relations all round; and force, virtue, must pass out of him, whether of hand, will, or sympathy, wherever he touches.

School Education, p. 162, bold emphasis mine

I quote this passage in full because it captures so well the relational existence that we are all born into. True knowledge of the world, including money, expands beyond the domain of information. While we can speak abstractly about income and expenses, P&L statements, and cash budgets, these numbers impact us personally when they are ours to manage. Consequently, depending on our upbringing and training, we can view finances as a terrifying enigma, a necessary evil, or a God-given aspect of responsible living. When viewed as the latter, we can approach finances and fundraising just as we do the throne of grace: with confidence in the faithfulness of our gracious and generous God.

Relocating our Source of Security

Effective fundraising begins with a proper view and relationship to money. It also requires a new way of relating to material resources. For most people, money is a chief form of security. This is in large part why fundraising is such a touchy subject. To admit the need for money leaves one feeling exposed. To ask for it even more so.

But it does not have to be. Nouwen writes, “The pressure in our culture to secure our own future and to control our lives as much as possible does not find support in the Bible. Jesus knows our need for security…What is our security base? God or Mammon?” (32). In this chapter, Nouwen clarifies that money holds an important place, but never as the foundation. As believers, we must put our trust in God and constantly through prayer recalibrate our dependence on Him alone.

Can we trust God? Yes, we can! His transcendence and sovereignty know no depths. As the prophet Isaiah writes,

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord, or instruct the Lord as his counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding?

Isaiah 40:12 NIV

Here the prophet underscores the unquantifiable distance between the knowledge and power of God and ourselves. This is an important truth to keep in my mind as we approach fundraising. Our security base cannot be our ability to forecast expenses, increase enrollment, or attract new donors. The only true base of security for believers is God alone.

Viewing Donors as Whole Persons

As Christian, classical educators, we talk often about the fact that we are educating whole persons. Here we are getting at the idea that humans are more than their grade point average, trophy case, or SAT score. They have minds, but they are not merely minds. They have bodies, but they are not merely bodies. They will likely one day join the work force and earn a salary, but this is not their sole purpose of existence. Therefore, we provide students with a liberal (generous), well-rounded education that will prepare them to thrive intellectually, physically, spiritually, and yes, economically.

Likewise, we should approach people with means to support the school as more than the biggest gift they can give. Donors are whole persons with families, interests, challenges, and aspirations. They have spiritual needs just like you and me, and need biblical encouragement. When we begin to view donors as whole persons, we grow more generous ourselves as we look for opportunities to bless and serve them.

It can be tempting to approach donors with a feeling of desperation and even helplessness. We feel the pressure of school expenses adding up and, as a result, fundraising can start to feel like begging. But, again, Nouwen is helpful here. He argues that fundraising is the opposite of begging; it is the invitation to join a compelling mission. He writes,

We are declaring, ‘We have a vision that is amazing and exciting. We are inviting you to invest yourself through the resources God has given you–your energy, your prayers, and your money–in this work to which God has called us to do.’

A Spirituality of Fundraising, p. 17

Seen in this way, fundraising is a form of ministry, not begging, in which we play the role of gift-giver even as we ask for monetary gifts to support the mission of educating the next generation.

Conclusion: The Role of Teachers

If you are a teacher reading this article, and you are still reading, well done! I am grateful for your attention. Many teachers are uncomfortable with the idea of fundraising and did not become a teacher to ask people for money. That is fine. But my hope in writing this article is that it will help you remember and appreciate the financial side of your school. I actually believe you will become a stronger faculty member and broader contributor to your school’s culture if you can appreciate this important dimension of your school’s sustainability.

In Journey to Excellence (ACSI, 2017), Ron Klein writes, “While the active fundraising effort of others is important for progress, the faculty’s subtle, indirect culture of gratefulness and appreciation for donors is no less crucial” (98). Teachers, understand that your school is a non-profit and relies on donors. It is very likely that your salary is dependent to some extent on the generosity of donors and therefore the efforts of those charged to raise funds. When appropriate, offer your gratitude to these partners in your school’s mission and prayerfully consider inviting potential new partners to learn more about your school.

Fundraising does not have to be a necessary evil. When we trust the Lord as our ultimate security and believe that our school’s vision is a cause worth getting behind, inviting others to partner together can bring an unexpected amount of joy.

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