Revising a mission statement after more than a decade is not something to be done without care and intention. Over the past year, the faculty, led by Interim Dean, Tom Johnson, has considered the wording of our mission statement and offered a revision to the Board of Trustees for their consideration. In March the Board voted to accept the proposed revision. Thus, we are pleased to announce to you the revised wording of the MHGS mission statement:

The mission of Mars Hill Graduate School is to train people to be competent in the study of text, soul, and culture in order to serve God and neighbor through transforming relationships.

The motivation for revising the mission statement is, in part, our ongoing process of institutional review and assessment. The former wording of the mission statement called us to train people in the study of text, soul, and culture “in order to experience God…” How do we assess that outcome? How do we “know” if we have met our stated purpose?

The new statement says we train people “to serve God and neighbor.” It reflects who we are and what we do. It clarifies our intentions and, therefore, sharpens our congruence with our long held mission. We have always understood our mission to focus on practice, embodiment and contextualization. The revision more clearly states what we have cared about from the beginning:  practice, doing, knowing in embodied and contextualized ways. Amongst other things, we will celebrate the work of internships, portfolios of practice, placement by alumni and service in church and the larger culture.

At the same time, we should be very clear that we don’t want to lose the idea of “experiencing God” as a core part of our mission. The kind of transformation we are talking about can only be experienced by serving (encountering) God and neighbor. We believe the revision more fully incorporates and articulates what it is to “experience God.”

We also claim in our mission statement what we have always claimed: we serve God and, thus, we believe we are called to our mission by the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. And we serve neighbor. Our work is always “for the sake of others.” Our mission statement implicitly declares, “it is the people whom our alumni serve.  It is the communities to whom we go, with whom we declare solidarity.” In the work we share, we join a centuries-deep, worldwide community who respond to the resurrected Lord with gladness and joy. In the company of Jesus, we serve God and neighbor.

Keith Anderson
President of Mars Hill Graduate School