What are actual values and aspirational values, and how do they manifest in a ministry? Actual values are the values that are currently being practiced. They can be seen because people are doing or living them. Aspirational values are hoped-for values; they are values to pursue. This means they are not values that an organization currently possesses or practices. Instead, they are values that they want to embody but do not currently. For instance, in a hypothetical church, if they say that they are evangelizing and there is tangible evidence that they are through evangelistic events and activities, then that is an actual value for that ministry. However, if a church states or implies that they are evangelizing, but there is no empirical proof on an organizational level that they are planning and executing evangelistic events and activities, then they are vocalizing an aspirational value.
One may wonder why a comprehension of actual values and aspirational values is important. The above discussion is vital because there is an inherent problem with ministries that state or believe they are doing something when in reality, they are not. While this discussion concerns ministries, which are organizations, this same phenomenon occurs with individuals. Really, what happens with individuals than is just scaled up and manifested at the organizational level. The problematic element aforementioned at the beginning of this paragraph is that the organization may fall into a state of self-deception. If a church ministry continues to believe and state that they are doing something that they are not really doing, then that organization will actually be less likely to make the aspirational value an actual value. This is because the church already thinks they are doing it. This thinking reflects a convolution of the actual value and the aspirational value. Returning to the example in the first paragraph, if a church thinks they are evangelizing, but they are not actually doing it, it may cause them to not turn the aspirational value into an actual value, which in turn will reduce their effectiveness as a ministry.
The following are examples to try and simplify the concept:
1. We are evangelizing (with evidence) = actual value
2. We are not evangelizing but will = aspirational value
3. We are evangelizing (without evidence) = this disconnect between belief and doing may result in a state of self-deception and a decreased likelihood that the church will actually evangelize
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