Mission drift occurs whenever an organization loses sight of its founding mission. George Williams (1821–1894) was a farmer who became a department manager for a men’s clothier in London. He was concerned about the dangerous influences young men faced in the streets. His concern for their welfare prompted him to gather with several colleagues to pray for their one hundred fifty employees by name. In 1844, Williams along with eleven others founded the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). Williams stated, “Our object is the improvement of the spiritual condition of young men engaged in houses of business, by the formation of Bible classes, prayer meetings, mutual improvement societies and any other spiritual agency.” By 1851, twenty-four YMCAs had been opened in England. A little-known fact: basketball and volleyball were invented by YMCA instructors.
The local Y near our home (the missing letters are rather telling) represents its mission in substantially different terms, “Our mission is to foster the spiritual, mental and physical development of individuals, families and communities according to the ideals of inclusiveness, equality and mutual respect for all.” Mission drift is a real threat to Christian organizations and churches that can lose sight of their original Christ-centered mission. Williams reflected on his years working with the YMCA, “My life-long experience as a businessman, and as a Christian worker among young men, has taught me that the only power in this world that can effectively keep one from sin, in all the varied and often attractive forms…is that which comes from an intimate knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as a present Savior.”
The following prayer was included in George’s journal: