Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

1991

Document Type

Project Report

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

Walter B. T. Douglas

Second Advisor

Slimen Saliba

Third Advisor

C. Raymond Holmes

Abstract

Problem

An organization will only succeed if all its entities contribute to its purpose. With time these entities tend to develop their own objectives, sometimes counteracting the overall mission of the organization. Religious organizations especially seem to encounter this issue. This study examines, in an exemplary way, the purpose of a health-food factory that is owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Germany and attempts to rewrite their statement of mission.

Method

The project examines the historical background of the factory. It indicates the reasons that led to its founding and the changes that took place in the understanding of its mission since that time. Surveys have been conducted in different environments to establish present expectations towards the company. A study of the literature established the need for a clearly defined statement of mission and its influence on the long-range success of the company. Guidelines for writing a statement of mission were developed. With a representative group of employees the above findings were discussed. This group then developed a new statement of mission within the framework of the overall purpose of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Results

Working through the process of rewriting the mission statement helped the involved people to understand the need for a concise purpose. An awareness was raised of the company's roots and its embodiment in the Seventh-day Adventist church and the production and marketing plans became more customer oriented. The project became a catalyst in making administrators of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Germany more aware of the need for including different entities in the overall strategic planning process. Other institutions of the Seventh-day Adventist Church became interested and began the same process.

Conclusion

The need for a mission statement that is compatible with the overall purpose of the parent company is generally understood. But there is a great reluctance by managers and administrators to adjust their hidden agendas to the overall mission.

Subject Area

Church management; Mission of the church; DE-VAU-GE Gesundkostwerk GmbH

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.32597/dmin/453

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