the three basic tests of mission relevance

I have these notes in my Franklin-Covey planner. What I failed to do is write down where I read this. I'm reading three books right now. No doubt, it came from one of them. Anyway, I thought this was worth sharing:

Three Basic Tests of Mission Relevance:

1. The opportunity must fit squarely in the midst of the organization's mission.
2. The enterprise must have the ability to execute on the opportunity better than any other organization.
3. The opportunity must make sense in the context of the economic engine and resources of the organization.

Wow. What if, as church leaders, we ran everything through that filter? I know churches that start new ministries all the time because they want to "meet everybody's needs."
If you've been around SFMC (soon to be NewPointe) much, you've heard it said that we're not primarily interested in meeting people's needs. Our primary concern is helping people get where they need to go (spiritually, relationally, emotionally, etc.).

That's why we don't have a lot of "programs." We're focusing on the things we want to do exeptionally well--the things we feel that God has called us to do.

I'm looking at our new college and singles environment (Aqua) through this filter. And wow, what an opportunity we have to create relevant environments to reach college and singlesomethings for Jesus Christ.

By the way, if you've been reading the same stuff as me and you remember where I got this from, shoot me and email and remind me so I can give credit where credit's due. Thanks.