In today’s fast-paced world, families often find themselves caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily life—sports practices, work deadlines, school functions, homework, and the many events that we feel pressured to attend. In the midst of all this noise, it’s easy to lose sight of what truly matters.
Every successful organization—from Fortune 500 companies to non-profits—has a mission statement. It’s the heartbeat of the organization: a clear and concise declaration of its purpose, values, and long-term vision. If companies go to such great lengths to define their mission, why wouldn’t we take the same care when it comes to our families?
As Catholics, our ultimate mission is to know, love, and serve God and others. Creating a family mission statement helps ensure that we live aligned with our sole mission with intention, rooted in faith, love, and purpose. We’ll explore the importance of a family mission statement from a Catholic perspective and walk you through how to craft one that reflects your family’s unique values and goals.
A family mission statement is a guiding declaration that defines what your family stands for and what you hope to achieve together. Much like a compass, it offers direction during seasons of busyness or confusion and helps unify your family under shared principles.
Rather than just “going through the motions,” a mission statement brings clarity, purpose, and peace to everyday life. It can serve as a daily reminder of who we are as a family as well as to Whom we belong.
Here are four key reasons to invest time in creating a family mission statement:
- Creating a Unified Vision: It aligns everyone’s efforts with a common goal, helping you move forward as a team.
- Strengthening Relationships: Working together to craft your mission statement encourages communication, collaboration, and helping everyone feel more connected to the statement that they helped craft.
- Guiding Decisions: When life gets complicated, your mission serves as a reminder to guide choices and behaviors.
- Encouraging Accountability: Everyone knows the mission and had a part of crafting it—so it’s easier to stay on track and lovingly call each other to a higher standard.
From a Catholic standpoint, a family mission statement should reflect the Gospel—particularly the call to love, serve, and grow in holiness. We are called not just to live for ourselves, but to become living witnesses of Christ’s love in the world, starting right in our homes.
Core Catholic Values to Consider:
- Faith – Living a Christ-centered life through prayer and Sacraments.
- Service – Reflecting Christ’s love through acts of mercy and kindness.
- Family – Honoring the sacredness of marriage and family life.
- Hard Work – Embracing discipline, perseverance, and stewardship.
- Dignity – Recognizing the inherent worth of every human life.
Crafting Your Catholic Family Mission Statement
This is a powerful process that doesn’t need to be complicated. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Step 1: Reflect on Your Core Values
Gather your family and discuss what matters most. Ask questions like:
- What do we believe in?
- How do we want to treat one another?
- How do we live out our faith at home and in the world?
Examples of core values include:
- Faith in God
- Love and respect for each other
- Commitment to service
- Integrity and honesty
- Forgiveness and compassion
Step 2: Define Key Actions
What does it look like to live those values day to day? Be specific.
Examples of key action include:
- Praying together daily
- Attending Mass as a family
- Sharing meals and meaningful conversations
- Monthly Confession as a family
- Reading Scripture together
- Volunteering or serving in your parish
- Supporting each other through challenges
Step 3: Put It All Together
Now that you’ve clarified your values and actions, it’s time to turn them into a mission statement. Use this simple formula:
“As a Catholic family, we [insert core values] by [insert actions].”
Sample Family Mission Statements
Here is the mission statement that we as a family came up with!
“We love God by praying daily, working hard, and serving others.”
Here are some examples to inspire you:
“Our mission is to follow Christ as a family by putting faith first, showing kindness, and living with integrity.”
“We are a Catholic family committed to faith, love, and service—seeking holiness together, and supporting one another every day.”
Once your family mission statement is complete, don’t let it just sit in a drawer. Live it out!
How to Keep It Alive
- Display It: Print and frame your mission statement in a central spot in your home.
- Review Regularly: Revisit it during family meetings, Lent, Advent, or the start of the school year.
- Use It to Guide Decisions: Let it shape your calendar, your conversations, and your commitments.
- Memorize It: Encourage everyone (even the kids) to remember the key phrases so it becomes part of your shared language.
The family is the domestic church, the first place where faith is passed on, where love is taught, and where saints are formed. By creating a Catholic family mission statement, you not only strengthen your family bonds but also commit yourselves more deeply to living out the Gospel. This doesn’t have to be hokey. Make it fun. Make it your family’s battle cry.
This simple but profound practice helps you live with intentionality—creating a unified purpose for the family to rally behind. However, it is easily forgotten after it is created and can become just an empty slogan. To avoid it just being a wasted family activity, you have to really work at incorporating it into family life. It’s never too late to craft a family mission statement—I hope you will!
Photo by Jessica Rockowitz on Unsplash
