Connection, support, and shared purpose: what is mission alignment?

By Parker Johnson from Calgary, Alberta

Earlier this year, a team was formed with a big task and a bold name: the Mission Alignment Committee. Our job? To help design a unified, Canada-wide mission centre capable of supporting the mission, programming, and diverse needs of people across the country. We were asked to look at everything from how we fund mission, to how we gather, to how we support leaders and ministries in different contexts. And we were asked to do it in a way that aligns with the Canadian Strategic Plan and the broader mission of the church.

But let’s be clear from the outset—before we launch into any new ideas or big plans to save the church: many of us are exhausted just keeping the doors open. We’ve been doing too much with too little for too long. Leading, organizing, caregiving, showing up… and still left wondering if it’s making a difference. And I want to set the record straight: that is not failure. It’s the byproduct of systems that haven’t kept pace with the realities of ministry today. What you do matters, and it always has.

Which is exactly why this committee was established—to take charge of our systems while being fully aware of the limitations and opportunities before us—and designing something purposeful and visionary for a church in 2025. Something that doesn’t just ask more of you but actually supports you and amplifies your contributions beyond your own immediate ministries.

We’re not here to pile on. We’re here to align. We want to bring clarity, connection, and capacity to the work we’re already doing. And we’re hoping to do it by adapting tools that work in other sectors and scaling them to fit our sacred purpose as a church.
We need a new way of being the church that doesn’t allow for disparity between ministries simply because one may have a larger budget than another. Because in this vision, one ministry’s success is the success of the whole Canadian church. When a congregation finds a creative way to engage their neighbourhood, or a camp develops a sustainable model, or a new ministry launches with clarity and energy—we all benefit.
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That’s the kind of alignment we’re after. Not uniformity, but unity. Not competition, but collaboration. And that’s why we’ve been crunching numbers and reviewing feedback. Because the Spirit doesn’t just move in sanctuaries. She moves in systems. In spreadsheets. In shared goals. And when we align those with our mission, we create space for real transformation.

Our Recommendations:

• Create a national database of congregational profiles: This isn’t just about collecting stats, it’s about capturing stories—who we are, what we care about, and what we’re working on. This database will help us connect congregations with similar missional priorities, identify emerging needs, and build networks of support.
• Cluster congregations for peer support: These clusters won’t be based solely on geography—they’ll be formed around shared mission, challenges, and opportunities. Think of it as spiritual ecosystems, where congregations and ministries can learn from and lean on each other.
• Launch a two-step listening process: This will begin with a survey, followed by non-evaluative conversations with congregational leadership. These conversations will be led by spiritual companions (Seventies, High Priests, Evangelists) and will focus on what’s working, what’s needed, and what’s possible.
• Nationalize key goals for collective impact: We believe the church in Canada can benefit from shared, measurable goals. For example, what if we committed to making our sacred spaces more environmentally friendly? Each ministry and campground could participate according to its context—urban or rural, large or small, building-based or mobile ministry—and report their progress. With guidance from teams like Climate Justice, we could track our collective impact and celebrate our shared wins.
  

This is where we feel we’re being called to go. A church that’s more connected, more collaborative, and more aligned with the mission we say we believe in. We aren’t going to be asking you to do more. You’re being invited to do it together. Our recommendations are available on our website. We hope you will add your voice to the conversation as we prepare for our 2025 Mission Centre Conferences in Canada.
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We look forward to receiving your reflections by email at: [email protected]

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