The Campaign to Make Poverty History

The ONE campaign is a study in both social action as well as incredibly focused vision.  I was listening to Andy Stanley speak on the topic of vision last week at the annual Maximum Impact simulcast.  He applauded the incredible simplicity and focus of the slogan of the ONE campaign — The Campaign to Make Poverty History.
 
Simple.  Memorable.  Powerful.  Inspiring.  This simple six word phrase is all of that.  Hear it once and you'll probably remember it tomorrow.  The phrase invites you to be a part of something that is larger then yourself and that could only be undertaken by a vast army of people aligned towards a singular purpose.  It stirs your heart and calls you to action.

Vision statements are rarely this well done.  The Army spent millions of dollars to come up with "An Army of One."  This phrase certainly has a ring to it and it calls out to the individualistic core found in Americans that cries out for recognition and opportunity in the midst of a crowd.  Yet, it does little more than that, I think.  It does not rally one around a cause.  It does not indicate what the Army is about.  It does not tell us what the purpose of this incredibly important group of men and women is.  It does not call us to action beyond ourselves.

I'm not saying it's a bad phrase, it may do exactly what the Army wants.  After all, the United States armed forces is not a mercenary force — a for-hire, professional army.  I'm not maligning the Armed Forces, nor questioning the patriotism of its brave men and women.  This is simply a fact.  And as such, the Army's slogan may speak directly to the target group of men and women the Army so desperately needs to recruit.

But back to the ONE slogan — by the way, if you haven't joined, go ahead, if for no other reason then to receive an incredible lesson in the effective use of mass communication and leveraging the power inherent in social networks — it is what a vision statement is supposed to be.  It says what the organization is about, it rallies us to a cause and it paints a picture of a possible future.

Our churches would do well to study this.  It is most certainly not an easy task.  But if we believe that the message that we hold is the only hope for the world, we must.