EMPLOYEE DIMENSION OF MISSION AND VISION STATEMENT OF LEADING CHURCHES IN NIGERIA

Evans-Osabuohien P N; Dada J. A; Olajugba O. J; Daramola O. A; Okeowo J. O

Research Article: 2024 Vol: 23 Issue: 6

EMPLOYEE DIMENSION OF MISSION AND VISION STATEMENT OF LEADING CHURCHES IN NIGERIA

Evans-Osabuohien P N, Covenant University

Dada J. A, Covenant University

Olajugba O. J, Covenant University

Daramola O. A, Covenant University

Okeowo J. O, Joseph Ayo Babalola University

Citation Information: Evans-Osabuohien P.N, Dada J.A, Olajugba O.J, Daramola O.A & Okeowo J. O. (2024). Employee dimension of mission and vision statement of leading churches in nigeria. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 23(S6), 1-13.

Keywords

Strategy, Qualitative.

Introduction

Mission and Vision statements are seen as an indispensable part of the strategic management process for organisations of all types, whether as a profit-making, non-profit, public, private, “multinational, or small and medium scale enterprise. It is widely believed that mission and vision statements impact strategy and most aspects of organisational performance. Most firms have mission and vision statements”, including churches (Dada et al., 2020; De et al., 2021).

Organisations, including churches, adopt the use of mission and vision statement in running their operations. The core values and the core purpose constitute the two components in the mission statements (Hieu & Vu, 2021). Muchiri (2010) submits that organisations are therefore “compelled to chart a new strategic direction guided by a shared vision, strategic thinking, and agility, taking cognisance of the increasing importance of its position in a worldwide context led by strategic leaders for organisational effectiveness. Having accepted at least notionally the potential strategic role of mission and vision statements, managers, researchers, and academics have tried to explore their importance empirically, especially in terms of how the components impact organisational performance since 1987 when the first attempt to investigate the relationship was made (see Pearson & David, 1987). Yet most of the earlier empirical works have concentrated on senior executives and managers; if not investigating how they formulate their mission and vision statements, then it is about how comprehensive their mission statements are and how they impact performance. The perspective of the employee and, therefore, the larger workforce has remained relatively neglected”.

The current research aims to explore the impact of the Mission and Vision statements on the operations of church organisations in Nigeria, focusing on the employee dimension. The topic will be viewed from the perspective of organisation members who are directly involved in the occupation of churches in Nigeria. This study is hoped to develop learning about the perceptions of these organisation members, about the development and implementation of vision and mission statement among churches in Nigeria. While the study is about the employee dimension of the mission and vision statements of leading churches in Nigeria, particular focus is on their commitment and reaction to vision and mission statement in the operations of churches in Nigeria. Content analysis is adopted to explore the topic.

Literature Review

Overview of mission and vision statements and its components

The late 1980s saw the introduction of studies on how a company's mission statement affects its corporate image. According to Achua and Lussier (2016), an organisation's mission statement is a long-term statement of purpose that separates it from other similar businesses. “It is well explained and designed to provide many benefits to an organisation, including providing direction and focus, forming the foundation for objectives and strategies, inspiring positive emotions about the organisation, ensuring unanimity of purpose, and assisting managers in resolving divergent views (Yazhou, & Jian, 2011)”. The recent trend of research has also indicated the relevance of mission among churches in Nigeria (Dada et al., 2020).

Many different firms employ diverse vocabulary to express strategy; some do so intentionally to portray uniqueness, while others unintentionally confuse them, according to Sufi and Lyons (2003). “The importance of mission and vision statements is well documented in strategic management literature. Despite this, it is typical for businesses to combine their mission and vision statements into a single statement (Sufi & Lyons, 2003). Strategic issues such as vision, strategic intent and capabilities, goals, objectives, core values, behavioural standards, business models, and so on change, and mission statements are commonly thought to be antecedents to any strategy creation attempt” (Thompson and Strick) (Campbell & Tawadeyk, 1992; Lynch, 2000).

Ogbari et al., 2016 described “how mission and vision statements can be utilised to create a clear and a shared sense of purpose, as well as serve as conduits for shaping employees' emphasis. Other schools of thought feel that mission and vision statements excite employees, shape their behaviours, nurture high levels of dedication, and have a favourable impact on their performance (Mullane, 2002; Collins & Poras, 1991; Daniel, 1992, Campbell, 1989; Ireland & Hitt, 1992, Klemm, et al., 1991, Drucker 1959). Mission and vision statements can vary in length and content, with some being broad and others being narrow. Fundamentally, vision statements encompass and capture a wide range of stakeholder values and expectations, as well as how the company delivers value for its constituents (Johnson, et al., 2008; Ufua, 2022).

According to Cortes, Rivera, and Carbonelld (2022), companies with a detailed Mission Statement outperformed those without. Following research revealed a favourable impact of Mission Statement content, readability, and planning processes on employee satisfaction and behaviour (Baetz & Bart, 1996; Bart & Baetz, 1998), as well as firm success on financial and mission achievement indicators (Sanchez & Riv-era, 2019; Godoy-Bejarano & Tellez-Falla, 2017). A typical mission statement, according to Mullane (2002), identifies key stakeholders and declares the organisation's commitment to meeting their requirements. He went on to propose the concept of "measurables" as critical to the mission's practical implementation: These "measurables" are a mix of objectives and aims. These corporate "measurables" were utilised to develop the firm mission statement, he discovered in a study of a casket-making subsidiary of a varied US corporation. Financial aims, geographic breadth, and distinguishing competence are the broad strategic imperatives identified by Forbes and Seena (2006). Various practitioners and academics appear to agree on a few key elements that should or should not be included in a typical and effective mission statement. Learning from the Majority World is one strategy for its liberation Çiçek, (2013).

Scholars who believe that before crafting a mission statement, leaders of an organisation must have a vision of what the future holds and that the vision is the foundation for the mission statement, abound in the literature. The mission and accompanying goals are launched from the vision, which offers a strategic direction. While there is some debate over the future orientation of a vision statement vs a mission statement, there is overwhelming agreement on the future orientation of a vision statement. No organisation, logically, wishes to remain static; it is not rare to come across what is commonly referred to as a "dream" that a company's founder has Cortés et al., (2022).

A vision is supposed to conjure up vivid mental images of their businesses' ideal future states Darbi, (2012). Accordingly, "dreaming and ambitions about tomorrow is a defining element of entrepreneurial firms as well as those businesses whose strategy creation process may be classified as entrepreneurial" (Mintzberg & Waters, 1985; Ufua, Papadopoulos & Midgley, 2018). In terms of implementation, vision statements should be demanding and ambitious while yet being practical enough to elicit staff innovation. The founding fathers of organisations regarded core values as enduring concepts, philosophies, and worldviews; these are frequently referred to as "organisational vision" (Sufi & Lyons, 2003).

Characteristics of a good vision statement

A concise vision statement makes it easy for managers and leaders to communicate and for people to remember (Kelly, 2011; Ufua, 2020). A vision should bring the company together and provide a stable, long-term aim. According to Sufi and Lyons (2003), the persistent quality of these basic principles must give the basis for a vision. The vision statement, according to authors such as Hussey (1998) and Mintzberg and Quinn (1996), should comprise core principles or basic philosophies that separate one organisation from another. The dispute about the importance of mission and vision statements Do mission and vision statements have any significance? Among those who questioned the utility and benefits were Piercy and Morgan (1994) and Simpson (1994).

Difference between vision and mission statements

A mission statement focuses on the here and now, whereas a vision statement focuses on the future. A mission statement explains the organisation's purpose and objectives, as well as the quality of its products and services, whereas a vision statement motivates people to work toward the organisation's objectives Dean, (2019).

Mission statements

The purpose for the statistics organisation's existence and what it performs now are at the heart of a mission statement. The statement should be succinct, intriguing, and simple to recall. It is not a good idea to use jargon or technical terms. In general, mission statements identify priority activities as well as the agency's importance and originality (i.e., what makes the organisation stand out compared to others).

“The mission statement should be written from the perspective of an outsider, taking into account what will interest and connect with those outside the organisation, as well as any benefits that may accrue to them, but with full consultation and engagement of employees to align in organisational cultural and economic factors (Deus, Battistelle, & Silva, 2016; Hlad-chenko, 2016; Kuenssberg, 2011), as well as differences between private and public institutions (Efe & Ozer, 2015; Morphew & Hartley, 2006). However, more research into the impact of the substance or readability of the Mission Statement on strategic activities like corporate communication and performance” is lacking.

Vision statements

Employees are inspired or motivated by vision statements that are skilfully stated. They are used to describe the organisation's goals and objectives. They employ the organisation's guiding beliefs “to remind their audience of the values that must be followed. A vision statement can and should help drive the decisions and goals of an organisation”.

Why should businesses take the effort to define their vision? Employees that are more involved ‘are more productive and effective corporate ambassadors in the greater community, according to research. Employees who feel their company's vision meaningful have a 68 percent engagement rate, which is 18% higher than the norm (Fernandes, 2019).

The following questions should be considered while establishing a vision statement, according to Fernandes (2019):

• What impact do I want my brand to have in the long run?

• How will my brand communicate with customers and citizens?

• What will my company's culture be like, and how will it affect the lives of my employees?

The answers to these questions will aid in articulating the organisation's desired direction, its journey from its current condition to its future state—in other words, its vision

Vision and mission through SMART Goals

“The combined vision and mission of an organisation provide a broad, general picture of the business's direction. Organisations must also set goals—narrower ambitions that should provide clear and tangible advice to employees while they conduct their daily tasks—in order to strive toward these broader aspirations. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound (SMART) goals are the most effective. Combining the initial letter of each dimension into a word”: SMART, is an easy approach to memorise these dimensions. When an organisation's goals are SMART, employees have a significantly better chance of succeeding. If an objective is explicit rather than imprecise, it is particular. "By 2016, WestJet will be one of the five most successful international airlines," for example, is WestJet's ambition Presler, (2022).

Methodology

The research applies a content analysis to the impact of the Mission and Vision statement on the operations of church organisations in Nigeria. The study relies on extant literature and reports to source relevant facts about the uses of developed mission and vision statements among Nigerian churches (Ismael et al., 2020). In a similar study, Mai, Mushtaq, Loch, Reardon and Dadang (2021) adopted a develop a conceptual modelling approach in their research. They found that key stakeholders’ feedback mechanisms would engender improvement in the pursuit of vision and mission.

In this research, “the selection of literature in the current study is restricted to their relevance to the topic. For recency, most of the literature was restricted to 2012 and later to enhance the study’s validity. This can also enhance the transferability or adaptability of findings from this study to address other problem situations, especially those in this study's contextual background (Smith & Shaw, 2019)”. In this regard, the reliance on extant literature is aimed to also to develop further understanding of the underpinning impacts of vision and mission statements on the operations of Nigerian churches. The research is focused on a selection of mission statements of 20 Nigerian churches with the aim to explore their commonalities for further discussion. The next section provides an overview of the mission statements and their relevance to church management practices in Nigeria.

In summary, the mission and vision statements stand as a model that underpins the operational directions churches. Based a selection of mission and vision statement of selected Nigerian churches in presented Table 1, Table 2, Table 3 & Table 4.

Table 1 Vision Statement of Leading Churches in Nigeria
Church	Vision Statement	Codes
Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG)	“To make heaven. To take as many people with us. To have a member of RCCG in every family of all nations”.	Making heaven, to take as many as possible, RCCG member of all nations
Living Faith Church Worldwide (winners Chapel)	“Now the hour has come to liberate the world from all oppressions of the devil through the preaching of the word of faith and I am sending you to undertake this task”.	Liberate the world, preaching, word of faith
Four-square Gospel Church	“To present Jesus Christ, God’s Son, to every person in every culture and nation as The Saviour, The Baptiser with the Holy Spirit, The Healer and The Soon-Coming King”	Jesus to every culture and nation, Saviour, Baptiser, Healer and coming King.
Deeper Life Bible Church	To evangelise the world. establish the converts in the faith. To establish a holy, and bible church in every community.	The world, converts in faith, holy living, church in every community
Believers” Love World (Christ Embassy)	“To take the divine presence of God to the people of the world and to demonstrate the character of the Holy Spirit”.	Divine presence, the world, demonstrate the Holy Spirit.
Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries	“To propagate the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ all over the world. To promote the revival of Apostolic signs, wonders and miracles. To bring together children of God who are lost in dead churches”	The gospel, the world, revival, signs and wonders,
Church of God Mission	“Building people into leadership, with a global passion, deeply rooted in Christ”.	Leadership, global passion, rooted in Christ
Dunamis International Worship Centre	“The Restoration of human destiny and dignity by the administration of the benefits of Redemption, through the ministry of the Word and the demonstration of power”.	Restoration of destiny and dignity, the word, demonstration of power.
Omega Fire Ministries	Not available	Not available
Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA)	“To make disciples of all nations, reaching the unchurched who will re-establish God’s kingdom on earth and to inform the nations adequately”.	Disciples of all nations. reaching the unchurched, re-establish God’s kingdom
Cherubim and Seraphim	“To restore spiritual sight to all who are blinded by all forms of religion and to cancel interference of spiritual blindness”.	Restore spiritual sight,
The Anglican Church	“To reach Nigerians and non-Nigerians with the saving and sanctifying gracious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ”.	“Nigerians and non-Nigerians, saving and sanctifying gospel of Christ”.
Catholic Church in Nigeria	“To carry out the work of Jesus Christ through the preaching of the word”	Evangelism, the word
Christ Apostolic Church	“Soul-winning and spiritual re-awakening of the world”	Soul-winning, spiritual reawakening, the world.
Celestial Church of Christ	“To evangelise the world through the proclamation of the Word, proclaiming deliverance to those bound by the shackles of Satan, healing the broken-hearted, the sick, the informed, restoring hope to the hopeless and those who are bound, while reinforcing the faith of all”	Evangelism, the world, deliverance, healing restoring hope, reinforcing the faith of all
Salvation Ministries	“To evangelise and propagate the gospel of Christ to the uttermost part of the world”	Evangelism, gospel, world
Daystar Christian Centre	To raise role models globally	To raise role models, world
Fountain of Life Church	“To teach men and women the art of building successful relationships and the principles of leadership so they can be all they were created to be”.	Word, Christian faith
United Methodist Church	“To be one of the largest and spiritually vibrantChurches in Nigeria”	Largest, spiritually vibrant church in Nigeria.
The Apostolic Church Nigeria	“Youth Emancipation and Involvement Aggressive Evangelism for Soul-Winning Church Planting and Church Growth Information Management and Dissemination Unity and Unification of the Church Warmth and Caring Christian Fellowship in the Church. Avoidance of any form of Dogmatism in the Church”	Soul-winning, church planting and growth, dissemination of information, unification of the church, caring
The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries	“Grass root revival all over the world. Revival of the Apostolic Christian experiences among the body of Christ. Revival of Heavenly Consciousness in the Body of Christ (Heavenat last)”	Revival, the world. Apostolic experience, heavenly consciousness

Table 2 Key Features/Groupings of Vision Statement
Church	The World	To make Heaven	Holy Living	Christian Faith	Soul-Winning/Evangelism	The Word/Teaching
RCCG	yes	yes	yes	-	yes	-
Living Faith	yes	-	-	yes	-	-
Four-square Gospel Church	-	-	-	yes	yes	yes
Deeper life Bible Church		yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Believers’ love world (Christ Embassy)	yes	-	yes	-	-	yes
Mountain of Fire Ministries	-	-	-	yes	-	yes
Church of God Mission	yes	-	-	yes	-	yes
Dunamis International worship Centre	-	-	-	yes	-	yes
Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA)	yes	-	-	-	yes	yes
Cherubim and Seraphim	-	-	-	yes	-	yes
The Anglican church communion	yes	-	-	-	-	yes
Catholic church in Nigeria	-	-	-	-	yes	yes
Christ Apostolic Church	yes	-	-	-	yes	yes
Celestial Church of Christ	yes	-	-	yes	yes	yes
Salvation Ministries	yes	-	-	-	yes	yes
Daystar Christian Centre	yes	-	-	yes	-	-
Fountain of Life Church	-	-	-	yes	yes	-
United Methodist church	-	-	-	yes	-	yes
The Apostolic Church Nigeria	-	-	-	yes	yes	yes
The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries	yes	yes	-	yes	yes	-

Table 3 Mission Statement of Leading Churches in Nigeria
Church	Mission Statement	Codes
RCCG	“Holiness will be our lifestyle. We will plant churches within five minutes walking distance in every city and town of developing countries and within five minutes driving distance in every city and town of developed countries. will pursue these objectives until every Nation in the world is reached for the Lord Jesus Christ”.	Holiness, plant churches, every nation, the world.
Living Faith Church	Not available	Not available
Deeper life Bible Church	To empower, teach and train every believer for effective evangelism and to live a life of perpetual victory over sin, temptation. To equip every pastor, minister and worker for productive ministerial life through regular systematic teaching and train in the word of God. To prepare the saints for heaven.	To empower, teach and train, evangelism, prepare saints for heaven.
Christ Embassy	“To raise generations of men and women who will come into their inheritance to fulfil God’s dream”.	Raise generations, inheritance, God’s dream
Mountain of Fire Ministries	“To train believers in the art and science of spiritual warfare. To train believers to receive Holy Ghost baptism and fire as well as a daily walk and relationship with the Holy Spirit. turn the joy of our enemies to sorrow. To build an aggressive end-time army for the Lord. To build up heavenly-bound and aggressive Christians”.	Train believers, spiritual warfare, relationship, Holy Ghost, end-time army
Church of God Mission	“Evangelising the lost for their total transformation spirit, soul and body, developing them into leaders”.	Evangelism, transformation, develop leaders.
Dunamis International worship Centre	“To blanket this world with the evidence of God’s saving, healing, delivering and lifting power everywhere people live, work or play, until the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the seas”.	The world, healing, deliverance, power, the earth, spreading the principles of the bible and creating awareness about the Christian faith
Omega Fire Ministries	“Wipe out tears, Restore Men Back to Their Destinies, Through the Revelation of the Word, The manifestation of Power and the Reality of the Holy Ghost”.	Wipe out tears, restore destiny, word, manifestation of power
Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA)	“To raise a TAKEOVER GENERATION who will take over in every sphere, system and sector, not taking sides but spear-heading new frontiers in spirituality and excellence while spreading abroad through prosperity”.	Takeover generation. Spirituality and excellence, spreading abroad
Cherubim and Seraphim	“To ignite passion for God/stir up revival for the kingdom of heaven”.	Passion for God, Revival, Heaven.
The Anglican church	“Bible-based, spiritually dynamic, united, disciplined, self-supporting, committed to pragmatic evangelism, social welfare and a Church that epitomises the genuine love of Christ”.	Bible-based, spiritually dynamic, evangelism, social welfare love of Christ
Catholic church in Nigeria	“To carry out and continue the work of Jesus Christ on Earth”	Carry out the work of Jesus Christ on earth.
Christ Apostolic Church	“Leading people into the knowledge of God through an in-depth study of The Word of God, prevailing prayer, and spiritual worship”	Leading to know God, the word prayer, spiritual worship
Celestial Church of Christ	“To worship God Almighty in holiness and reverence. To Preach the good news of the Messiah – Jesus Christ and the imminent Kingdom of God through evangelism, Bible Classes, Bible Lectures, organised spiritual forums, print and electronic media. To prepare believers for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. To work for the unity of all Christians. restoration of Christian values into home/families.”	Holiness, evangelism, unity of Christians, restoration, Christian values
Salvation Ministries	“To evangelise and propagate the gospel of Christ to the uttermost part of the world”
Daystar Christian Centre	“To empower you and I to discover, develop, release and maximise our potentials in God.”	Empower, discover, develop, release and maximise potentials
Fountain of Life Church	“To provide a home for the lost; guide those in search of direction, purpose and calling; and raise a people who are committed to making a difference.”	Home for the lost, guide, direction, calling, raise a people, making a difference.
United Methodist church	“To consistently win more souls for Christ, Develop spiritually fulfilled members and Remain very active in serving humanity.”	Win souls, develop spiritually, serving humanity
Foursquare	“Evangelising the lost and establishing local congregations through the nurturing and training of believers into leadership on all levels of church life, and in cooperation with other members of the body of Christ at large in the fellowship of the Gospel and the fulfilment of the biblical mandate to be “light” and “salt” on the earth”.	Evangelism, nurturing and training, leadership, biblical mandate, light and salt, the earth.
The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries	“Revival of the apostolic Christian experiences among the body of Christ. Revival of Heavenly Consciousness in the Body of Christ (Heavenat last)”.	Revival, Christian experience, heaven at last.

Table 4 Key Features/Groupings of Mission Statement
Church	The World	To make Heaven	Holy Living	Christian Faith	Soul-Winning/Evangelism	The Word/Teaching
RCCG	yes	yes	yes	-	yes	-
Living Faith	-	-	-	-	-	-
Four-square Gospel Church	-	-	-	yes	yes	yes
Deeper life Bible Church		yes	-	-	yes	yes
Believers’ love world (Christ Embassy)	-	-	-	yes	-	yes
Mountain of Fire Ministries	-	-	-	yes	yes	yes
Church of God Mission	-	-	-	yes	yes	yes
Dunamis International worship Centre	yes	-	-	yes	yes	yes
Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA)	-	-	-	yes	yes	yes
Cherubim and Seraphim	yes	-	yes	-	yes	-
The Anglican church communion	yes	-	-	yes	yes	yes
Catholic church in Nigeria	-	-	-	-	yes	-
Christ Apostolic Church	-	-	-	yes	yes	yes
Celestial Church of Christ	-	-	yes	yes	yes	-
Salvation Ministries	yes	-	-	-	yes	yes
Daystar Christian Centre	-	-	-	yes	-	yes
Fountain of Life Church	-	-	-	yes	yes	yes
United Methodist church	-	-	-	yes	yes	yes
The Apostolic Church Nigeria	-	-	-	-	-	-
The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries		yes		yes	-	yes

Further Discussion of Findings

This section is presented based on findings from extant literature and the data on the mission statements of selected Nigerian churches. The focus is on the key similarity and focus of theses mission statement among practicing churches in Nigeria. From Table 1, the various mission statements point to the key direction of the operations of surveyed churches in this study. These are discussed subsequently.

The pursuit of heaven and salvation

The strive among practicing Nigerian churches provides the drive among their staff and management structure towards the engagement various tools to shape their operations in line with the set mission (see tables1 & 3). This stands as a commonly accepted vision among these churches in Nigeria. This pursuit of heaven as a common factor in their mission statements, equally has a significant influence of other business and operational activities engaged in by these churches in Nigeria (Idoko, 2021). These include operating missionary educational outfits, business centres, and other supply and value chain management practices (Oyelade et al., 2021). However, extant literature suggest that the potency of the captioned mission statement define the limits of the operation. It arguable to note that the pursuit of heaven implies that only activities the support their faith and beliefs in them to lead a heaven- bound life is acceptable in their operational process (Ibiyeomie & Zeb-Obipi, 2021; See Table 2).

The pursuit of heaven largely anchored on the faith and teachings about the principles of the holy which provided the underpinning alignment of the church mission statement. This raises the question whether the pursuit of heaven as a common factor highlighted the mission statements adopted by the churches in Nigeria separates their operations from the conventional business management principles and practice? The stake of this research is that the adoption of mission statement among Nigerian churches focused in their assignment, creates the platform for a broad practice of management principles. However, extant literature provides evidence that the practice of these management principles, while they support critical effective operational trends among these churches, such as innovation and creativity for capacity building, their application is structured not to violate the common factor the pursuit of Heaven. Moreover, the selection and development of operational approaches among leaders in Nigerian churches and clearly aligned to suit the same purpose of their pursuit of heaven and the assurance of faith-based coverage, which also influence their operations (Wachukwu, 2021; See Tables 2 & 4).

While faith and the pursuit of heaven stand influential to the operations of churches in Nigeria as expressed in table 1, the churches are constrained to the dictates of the legal systems in their host environment. Extant literature has shown that theses churches tend to use their faith preaching and other religious acts such as social voluntary welfare services, to woo the public through actions such as evangelism (Golo, & Novieto, 2021). However, the legal system plays a superior in regulating operational activities of these organisations. This leaves the churches, with the responsibility to structure their mission statement in line with the dictate of the extant laws in their host environment and also operates as a law-abiding organisation while appropriating their faith-based practices such as the pursuit of heaven. The question this raises is to what extent does the church and its staff subject their operations to the legal systems while in operation in a location? Extant literature acknowledges the alignment of the principles of the bible which highlights the faith practiced by the Nigerian churches and the legal rules of the land (Yoo, 2021). Therefore, the stake of this research is that most Nigerian churches recognise the laws in their teachings and the pursuit of their mission. However, the legal system has the responsibility to address the possibility of breaches of the laws and rules of engagement among the Nigerian churches, whether in their pursuit of core mission such as the pursuit of heaven of engagement in other related business activities.

Spreading the principles of the bible and creating awareness about the Christian faith

Many Christian churches in Nigeria embrace the act of spreading the gospel. This is a common feature in the vison and mission statements that underpin the operational direction of these churches (Table 1 & 3). The spread of the gospel is commonly referred to as evangelism is dominant practice that aligns with other practices such as the pursuit of heaven and other social and voluntary support to the members of these churches and other residents in their focused communities of operations (Egwuonwu, 2022). Researcher note that the practice of evangelism being a core factor in most mission and vision statements among churches, requires the commitment of both the management, staff and members of Nigerian churches, as well as allocation of resources to support the plans to spread the gospel to the members of the communities of coverage (see Ufua, Osabuohien, Ogbari, Falola, Okoh, & Lakhani, 2021). The aim of spreading the gospel is to convince and covert more members of the society to share in their practices and spiritual beliefs of the churches and ultimately become members (Dadang, 202; Table 1 & 3). While the main reason for spreading the gospel is to create more awareness about the principles of the bible which underpins the churches doctrines, it also creates an avenue for the church and its membership with the opportunity to offer their contributions towards sustaining societal values such as peaceful coexistence, general peace across cadres of society through the teaching and exemplary living based on the mission and vision (Adenekan-Koevoets, 2021; Ufua et al., 2021).

On the hand, while the vision portrays the key practices among Nigerian churches such as evangelism is at the fore of the relationship between the churches and different fragments society, the host community culture and beliefs tend s to create a conspicuous impediment to the smooth running of the churches’ plans for spreading the gospel (Ufua, 2021; Meleki, 2021). This entails the subsisting opposing traditions and spiritual practice that adopted by the members of the society that do not agree with the project of spreading the gospel by the churches. It therefore leaves the churches with the responsibly develop suitable strategies to implement their evangelism plans (Ugwu, & Chukwuma, 2021).

The pursuit of the spread of the gospel and other mission projects such the strive to make heaven domicile in the mission and vision statements of churches in Nigerian focused in this research requires the human put such as the church leadership, staff and members, as well a significant resources ( e.g., materials and finances to execute).Similarly, the while the mission and vision statement of conventional businesses are aimed for profitability and sustainability, the mission and vision statement of churches are aimed to achieve spiritual returns such as increase in the number of members , who embrace the teachings of the churches who share in their pursuit of other goals such as heaven, These are achieved through the spread the gospel programmes commonly embedded in the vision and mission statement of practicing churches (Okoh, 2021).

What remains a critical issue of interest in how can the success of churches’ mission and vision be measured? This is highlighted by researchers as an inconclusive argument that cannot easily find justification as the mission statements of these churches are based on faith beliefs of the church which can only be adjudged by the principles of bible and other divine deductions that tend to be beyond the thoughts of mankind (Smith, 2021; see Tables 1-4). Similarly, a key question that is raised in this research is whether the increase in membership of churches actually connotes the committed embrace of the members? The stance of this research is that to a large extent, this is an issue that of the divine aspect of the church faith teachings can effectively determine whether level of embrace buy members of a church.

Conclusion

This research focused on the impact of the mission and vision statement on the operations of church organisation in Nigeria. The study was based on the mission statement of selected 20 Nigerian churches. The research highlighted key common factors among the selected mission and vision statements, including the pursuit of heaven and the spread of the gospel. The main finding is the inconclusive possibility of assessment of adopted mission and vision statement by churches in Nigeria due to the divine doctrine that underpins the operations of these churches, which makes it beyond human thoughts and assumptions.

A suggestion for further study is the need for more focus on the design of mission statement and the legal systems. This would lead to further learning on the level of compliance of churches in the pursuit of vision and mission statements and the regulations. It would also open up further debate on the most suitable ways to find a meeting points between the churches’ pursuit of their mission and the legal regulations in Nigeria.

References

Adenekan-Koevoets, B. (2021). Nigerian Pentecostal Diasporic Missions and Intergenerational Conflicts: Case Studies from Amsterdam and London. Mission studies, 38(3), 424-447.

Academy of Strategic Management Journal (Print ISSN: 1544-1458; Online ISSN: 1939-6104)

EMPLOYEE DIMENSION OF MISSION AND VISION STATEMENT OF LEADING CHURCHES IN NIGERIA

Keywords

Introduction

Literature Review

Methodology

Further Discussion of Findings

Conclusion

References