Our worldwide leadership has concluded that in order to enable our vision of Movements Everywhere by the Year 2020, and accomplish the mission of Campus Crusade for Christ, significant change must occur in our organisational culture. We need to challenge how we think of ourselves and the way we get things done.
Therefore, the global leaders are inviting all of us to engage in refining our organisational culture, under the slogan “Shaping Our Future Together.” The vision of Movements Everywhere and the urgency of our mission are causing us to think deeply about our effectiveness. This means more than simply evaluating strategies. It has to do with underlying values, beliefs and principles, which are observed in our practices and behaviours.
Five interdependent aspects of culture
Over the years we have been talking about and experimenting with the kind of organisational culture we desire. This has led to the definition of five interdependent aspects of culture, each of which is described on the Shaping Our Future website. You can download these descriptions by going to http://www.shapingourfuture.me …
Note: If clicking on the link does not work, copy this link into your browser, login to the GCX. If you do not have a GCX account, you will have to click on “Sign Up for a new account.” Then click on ‘Resourses’ from the menu bar at the top of the page and find the ‘Rationale Documents’ section on the left side.
We’ve included a short summary in this document:
1. Value-driven
Realizing that our work is ultimately spiritual, we must lead from our values of faith, growth and fruitfulness. We are motivated by these values rather than being driven by events, donors, or numbers. It’s about a passionate walk with God, working in unity, speaking the truth in love, and doing whatever it takes to help people connect with Jesus and become true followers of Him.
2. Local Ownership
“Movements Everywhere” implies that the greatest growth must take place at the grass roots level. In order to ensure that the local level is growing and expanding, the whole organization needs to adjust. This means that we must have local teams who are focused on building movements, whether through direct ministry or catalytic ministry. They are fully empowered to innovate and be creative, whilst committed to multiplying.
3. Kingdom Perspective
Penetrating the world with true followers of Jesus will require efforts far beyond those of Campus Crusade for Christ. We must keep a Kingdom perspective. We must join forces and resources with the rest of the body of Christ to reach our goal. This means that we promote God’s heart among the nations, embracing both the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. While making disciples and launching movements locally, we continually entrust the ministry to others.
4. Learning Environment
The world is constantly changing. What was effective last year may not be effective next year. We must be able to rapidly respond to God-given opportunities. We need leaders with the spirit of Jonathan and his armour bearer who will take the initiative to “. . . go up and see what the Lord might do for us.” We must create an atmosphere where people are free to try new ideas and to adapt to changing local, regional or global realities.
5. Shared Leadership
To pursue even our part of movements everywhere, we must share the responsibility for the work. Leadership cannot be left to a few; it must be entrusted to others. The extent of “everywhere” requires an expanding leadership base. Shared leadership means that we execute the mission through effective ministry teams at every level. To function together effectively on teams, we must be leaders who serve others with grace and humility.
We invite you to engage with the worldwide ‘culture’ discussion
This internet site and a discussion guide have been designed to help teams embrace the desired organizational culture within our movement. Working through the discussion guide will help your team understand the five aspects, evaluate how you are doing as a team in each of the areas, process change where needed and talk about how the team can live out each of the aspects.
Every team in the organization (local, regional, national) will be engaging in these conversations. We value your feedback on how the conversations went with your team. The website http://www.shapingourfuture.me facilitates your feedback. This website also allows you to see and interact with other teams around the world who are also engaging in this process of culture change.
Javier Garcia: “A movement that does not take into account cultural values is going to fail.”
David Wilson: “Use the culture website to give your input. The world needs to hear from you.” (Also view what David has to say about one of the culture aspects ‘Local Ownership’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MZlWP3tMng)
Hans Pruis: “I am convinced that our organisational culture has a major effect on our fruitfulness. I think it isn’t so difficult to agree with the definitions of the desired culture. But it really is a challenge to turn these principles into daily habits of behaviour. It’s like our personal testimony: the message isn’t only what I tell people about Jesus, it is also what others see of Jesus in me.”