Have you ever thought about writing a mission statement for your family? Businesses and schools often use mission statements to guide their decisions, but families can benefit just as much—if not more—from having one. A family mission statement is a simple, powerful way to capture your values, priorities, and vision for the kind of home you want to create together.
Writing a mission statement doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s a step-by-step guide (plus a free printable) to help you craft a meaningful family mission statement that your family will actually use and love.
1. Gather Everyone Together
Your mission statement should reflect your whole family—not just the parents. Set aside some intentional time, like a family home evening, dinner, or a quiet Sunday afternoon to work on this together. Let your family know how important their input is!
2. Talk About Your Values
Start by asking a few questions to get your family thinking:
What do we want our home to feel like?
What do we believe in?
How do we want to treat each other and others?
Then give each family member a Family Attributes worksheet (see below to download the worksheet) and a highlighter or colored pencil. This worksheet is best for kids six and up. Go through the list and read each value outloud. Explain the words your kids might not know. Tell them to listen and highlight the words that really stick out to them as important to their home and family.
Encourage them to pick ten words or less.
3. Identify Common Themes
Once everyone is done with their Family Attributes sheet, let everyone share the words they picked. Take a few minutes to write down any of the words you see used more than once. Look over your list and see if you can group them into any themes—things like love, faith, hard work, learning, or fun. Write them down and narrow them into a handful of core values. These will form the backbone of your mission statement.
4. Brainstorm Key Phrases
Now, put your values into short, powerful sentences using some of the words you picked. For example:
- “We love and serve one another with kindness”
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“We choose the right and follow Jesus Christ.”
- “We support each other and are quick to forgive”
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“We work hard and make time for fun and laughter.”
Keep them simple, clear, and positive.
4. Write Your Mission Statement
Use your phrases to create a short paragraph or list. You can use short phrases like, “love one another” or have a complete sentence. There’s no one “right” format—it just needs to reflect your family’s voice. The key is to make it something your family can remember easily.
5. Create a Visual for your Home
Don’t let your mission statement sit in a drawer. Print it, frame it, or post it on the fridge—somewhere you’ll see it daily. You want it to become part of your family’s rhythm, not just a forgotten exercise.
If you are looking for a some simple, editable templates for displaying your family mission statement on the wall or on wallet sized cards to put in their purse or backpack, check out this packet on my Etsy shop (click on image below).
6. Put it to Use!
Revisit this mission statement often! You could have a monthly meeting and review it, recite it every day before school or at the dinner table, or any other creative way to keep it fresh in your minds. You could also consider picking a word or phrase each month and study it together. You could talk about how this attribute might look in your home or role play some scenarios and how you could react using that attribute. Don’t let this statement collect dust on your wall, let it inspire and guide your family!
