A family mission statement helps create the culture within the home. Learn how to develop a family mission statement through several real family mission statement examples from Christian and LDS families.
Below you’ll find great Christian family mission statement examples that are great for family values and are the first step of great things to come. These are great for every member of the family and are a great way to set your family’s core values while instilling family traditions.
With God’s presence in your family vision statement, the whole family can be a part of the set of core values that always remember and value God’s word. Having a strong family unit is the best way to make action statements that everyone can understand and use to instill good habits and continue to have a growing relationship.
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To start the next steps and learn more about a good list of values and simple ways to start, read below. Having a shared vision is a great way to celebrate your family and the glory of God.
I don’t know about you, but I have big plans for my family.
I want my kids to grow up into amazing individuals who are super smart and make awesome choices and have a great relationship with me, with God, with their friends, and who are known for being upstanding, honest, and giving individuals.
And I know that won’t happen if I just do whatever I want as their parent or if I let them do whatever they want (or rather if I let them not do things they don’t want to do).
I mean, it can happen, but leaving things to chance seems like a wasted opportunity.
Plus, I really want to enjoy the time I have now with my five children all living at home with me.
We homeschool, I work-from-home, and we do just about everything together as a family.
There is nothing more important to me than my family except for God.
So I take this parenting and family thing seriously and we often make family goals, work toward memorizing scripture together as a family, pray together, exercise together, read together, and play together.
Creating a family mission plan seems like the logical next step for us, especially as we’ve already honed in on creating family mottos.
What is a Family Mission Statement?
A family mission statement would outline your family’s big goals, your big hopes, your big agendas, aims, and purposes.
A family mission statement would remind us to stay focused on what really matters in your family, and what you are striving to achieve as you get bogged down with endless little choices as well as big decisions.
A family mission statement is a combined, unified expression from all family members of what your family is all about – what it is you really want to do and be – and the principles you choose to govern your family life.”
Stephen Covey
Like a business’s mission statement helps it cultivate certain attitudes and cultures within it, so can a family mission statement work to cultivate certain attitudes and cultures within in… like kindness and charity.
It seems like a family mission statement is something our family should totally have.
Obviously, they are not necessary to successful families, but if you like to organize and plan your family life (like someone I know ?♀️), then you might be super thankful for all the different family mission statement examples I have collected from real families.
They will help you form your own family mission statement template which you can
Covey Family Mission Statement
Stephen R. Covey, an internationally respected leadership authority, teacher, author, organizational consultant, co-founder of Franklin Covey Co., and writer of one of the best business books of all time “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” (which I’ve totally read and it is transformative!) has also written books for families like his “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families” book.
In his short 47-page companion ebook/audiobook “How to Develop Your Family Mission Statement” Covey seeks to help you create a Franklin Covey family mission statement that will:
- Unite your family around a common sense of purpose and mission
- Develop more patience and the capacity to solve problems proactively
- Strengthen your children and family members in a turbulent world
- Eliminate ineffective family habits
- Transform family life from a desperate, miserable, day-to-day grind to family life rich with meaningful relationships.
Man, aren’t those things we all want for our families?! ?
How to Develop a Family Mission Statement
You know what a family mission statement is and all the good reasons why families should create a family mission statement from the man (Covey) himself, but how do you develop a family mission statement?
The simplest way is to use Covey’s Habit 2 of his 7 Habits – Begin with the End in Mind.
This means the first thing you want to do is to define the outcomes, define what “end” you want for your family.
Like I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I want my kids to be smart and service-orientated and Christians after they leave my home (among other traits).
What traits are most important in your family?
Kindness? Respect? Fun? Physical fitness? Health? Sleep?
What does your family vision look like for your family in the future? What does it look like for you, for your spouse, for each of your individual children? Who do you hope you and they will become as the years go by?
Looking long-term is so important because your kids won’t stay in diapers forever, or burst into tears or throws fits every day because you’re asking them to use the blue bowl instead of the pink one.
Our kids develop. We develop. We all change, and hopefully with a solid family mission statement, change in positive ways as you focus on who you want to become.
Here are some additional questions to ponder. As you ponder them, write down your ideas in a Google doc or notebook.
- What is the purpose of your family?
- What things do you want to do as a family?
- What feelings or attitudes do you want within your family?
- What types of relationships do you want to exist within your family?
- What are your families top priorities?
- What are the responsibilities of various family members?
- How will your family contribute to society and life outside the home?
- What service will your family do?
It’s also helpful to ask your children these questions!!
As parents, we are the leaders of our homes, and the best leaders receive input and inspiration from those they serve and lead.
It’s really important to take your time on this part of the process and to really think about your values and aims and goals for your family.
Family mission statements are great to review and revise each year, in a family council.
Brett McKay and his family (over on the Art of Manliness) like to go camping at a nearby state or national park for their “family mission statement pow-wows,” and do so every year. He remembers each of these conversations!
He recommends keeping these meetings to 15-30 minutes for kids 4-10 years old and 30-45 minutes for kids older than 10 and keeping them positive (rather than guilt trips for anyone).
Don’t get stuck on what your family mission statement “should” sound like or “should” include.
Be honest with yourself about your family and who you really are, not who you dream you were more like.
While family mission statements and family goals can help redefine your characters over time, you should still know that some things likely won’t (or can’t) change, or if you are honest with yourself, you don’t really care if they change or not.
Also, your family mission statement can change!! What may seem so important now, may not be later, or as your kids grow, as you change, you may want to add or delete or edit parts of it.
Family Mission Statement Examples
The Poulette’s, from Saving You Dinero, family mission statement says:
“To care for and love our family and others while we glorify God, have fun, and make the world a better place.”
Short and simple and perfect for them.
My cousin Chris and his wife Shelbi have a family mission statement with their own family emblem or drawing on it, and they call theirs “The Thurston Way.” It is a list of twenty items they think are good for their family like:
- We are not followers, we are leaders.
- We are honest.
- We are a warm-weather family
not a cold-weather family. - We like to travel on road trips not by plane.
- Kindness builds character.
Shelbi told me they review their family motto and family mission as they meet together each week with a task board and sticky notes. During these individual meetings with their seven kids, they discuss what’s going on and the personal and family goals people are working on. She bases these meetings on this TED talk from Bruce Feiler on agile programming.
If you are just a family of two – you and your husband – or you want your own marriage manifesto, as The Dating Divas have dubbed it, I love the free printable they created for it!
It says:
“We are
madly , deeply, and fiercely in love. Our marriage will have ups and downs, but like a roller coaster, we’ll enjoy the ride.Love is a choice and we choose us. Right now. Today. Every day.
We will create a dream marriage, far more beautiful than our wedding.
Love doesn’t happen to us. It happens because of us. It is action, not just a feeling. Love diminishes as we stop giving it, and we will never stop!
We will: write love notes, say thank you, take adventures, flirt, kiss, hold hands, and cuddle. We will make regular date nights a priority, not an option.
We will assume the good and doubt the bad. We will talk and listen. REALLY listen.
We will think together, even if we don’t think alike. We will seek out the positive, beautiful, and lasting things in life.
We will love passionately, live intentionally, and forgive quickly.
We are the center of a family where life begins and love never ends.
We will fall in love with each other over and over again.
Our forever is together! when were are together – we are home.
– The Dating Divas
If you want a great example of a longer, more detailed family mission statement, I loved this one I found on IntentionalByGrace.com.
The post has great tips for writing Christian family mission statements and some of her favorite scriptures to use and the tip that you should always begin your brainstorming session with a prayer (which I agree with).
I loved this amazing post from Young Wife’s Guide all about developing scripture-based family mission statement if you are looking to do that.
Bre Bell Ahrens shared her Bell Family mission statement with me. Her family’s values use an acrostic of CHARITY. She has printed and hung it on their wall (sorry about the glare).
It says:
“We will build a celestial family on earth and in the eternities through developing faith, following the prophets, and living the attributes of Christ. Our values are:
- Compassion and service
- Humility and quiet leadership
- Achievement through hard work
- Righteous humor
- Inviting others unto Christ
- Temperance and patience
- Yielding to the
Spiri t
As we are steadfast in these values and are united as a family, we will enjoy the blessings of exaltation.”
Kelly Stanton shared her family mission statement with me. It is a homemade post that they all signed and it hangs in the hall where they’ll see it several times a day.
It says:
“My home is filled with love, obedience, respect, gratitude, faith, honor, and happiness.”
My friend Julie made a Christian family mission statement based on family virtues and scriptures. The Nixon Family Virtues are:
- Treasuring God Most
- Growing In Grace
- Loving Selflessly
- Pursuing Wisdom
- Respecting Authority
- Showing Compassion
- Communicating Truthfully
- Living Joyfully
I also love that there are so many awesome signs you can find online that work as great family mission statements, or at least good reminders if nothing else.
Picklebums has this beautiful free “rules for kids” printable that you can apply to yourself as parents too.
It says:
“Always be kind. Stand up for yourself. Do hard things even if you don’t think you can. Follow your dreams. Get dirty and have fun. Believe in yourself. Find time to play. Hug often.”
Here is one from the Shaw Family:
It says:
“We will strive to create a Christ-centered home where kindness, unconditional love and forgiveness abound. Our home will be a shelter from the world and a place where the Spirit of the Lord can direct us at all time and iun all things. Rejoicing in the everlasting gospel, we will reside in our Heavenly home as an eternal family.”
If you are still stumped, I found so many family mission statement examples online that you are free to look over to be inspired by:
- Croft Family Mission Statement
- A simple, short family mission statement
- The Smith Family Mission Statement (another Acrostic Poem)
- Olson Family Mission Statement
- The Stangers Seek to S.M.I.L.E.
- A young family’s mission statement
Once you figure out what you want your family mission statement to say, you can get it printed and beautifully designed through one of many amazing Etsy creatives!
Once you have it printed (remember, it doesn’t have to be fancy) have everyone in your family sign it and display it prominently in your home and review it often.
If you have a family mission statement, I’d for you to share it in the comments below and share how you use it!
Scarlet says
I love how you provided so many great examples of family mission statements to provide inspiration to complete our own. I think this is a great idea to stay focused on what matters most.