200 Missional Living Word of the Year Ideas

2021 is almost over and perhaps you’re more than ready to close the chapter on a year that didn’t pan out quite as you had hoped. Maybe you’re still wearing masks in your area or you’ve lost someone you love to an epidemic none of us can control. Maybe you didn’t get to do all the things you were forced to put on hold in 2020.

And maybe you’re hesitantly optimistic that 2022 will be better.

You need it to be better, but in the quiet you worry that it won’t be better, at least not by much.

Daring to dream for good to come from 2022 might feel like we’re merely poising ourselves to be disappointed.

In light of this, our goals, resolutions, and check-list seems less significant than for previous New Years. We’ve grappled with how little we can actually control, and it’s erased more than it’s written.

We’re left with a blank page.

Void or vision?

A blank page can be a vacuum sucking our hope. But it can also be a canvas waiting in expectancy. No mark. No mar. Just a wide-open space to hold what will be.

Will 2022 be void of hope or an opportunity to expect and invite and partner with God? I have a choice, and so do you.

One way I’m leaning into the potential for good and for growth in 2022 is through a word of the year. I’ve chosen a word for each of the past few years and found it pulls me to rely on God above my own efforts or ability. Unlike a goal or resolution, it’s not about what I can do, but surrendering to what God would do within me.

A word of the year casts vision because it gives me a direction. Simultaneously, it’s not overwhelming because a word of the year doesn’t set the timeline or the pace. My word beckons me to keep leaning in, no matter how slowly. No matter how often I fail. No matter how much I still have to learn.

A word of the year meets me where I am and lifts my gaze to watch the horizon.

It softens my heart and opens my hands.

It grows my anticipation.

It deepens my connection with God.

It helps me dare to dream bigger dreams.

It gives me the courage to walk through valleys and up mountains.

It resurrects my trust in an unfailing God, who loves with an unfailing love.

And it points me towards heaven while planting me where I am.

My word of the year for 2022

The word I’ve chosen for 2022 is release. It’s a call to let go of results and trust that God is causing what I plant to grow in His time and in His way. It’s a call to be faithful in the things He asks me to do while relinquishing control. It’s an invitation to trust Him and know His heart, and know that only He can define my worth or the impact of my written words.

Like my previous words (nevertheless, given, and open) from the past few years, this is what I can see from where I stand, but it’s only the beginning. And the anticipation of the unfolding, the growing, the cultivating, fills me with hope.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish,” the Proverb says (29:18 KJV). And maybe right now you feel the void of hope like a bottomless ache inside. Maybe you need a word of the year to cast vision for 2022 because vision will fill you with hope.

Word of the year tips

If you’ve never chosen a word of the year before, here are a few tips I can offer:

• Choose the word that you keep coming back to. Don’t overthink it. If you don’t know all the layers of how the word will unfold, it’s a good clue that it will grow you in ways you can’t imagine yet.

• Make your word visible. This could mean writing it on a post-it and placing it somewhere you will see it regularly, writing it on a mirror with dry-erase, creating wall-art or a vision board with it, or (my favorite) creating a lock-screen graphic for your phone with your word. I use Canva for all the graphics I create, and there is a free version of it that’s all you’d need to create a word of the year phone wallpaper.

• Talk about your word. It opens conversations and helps you go beyond the surfacy chit-chat about kids’ activities or the weather. Sharing about what God is working on inside you a perfect way to lean into missional living as it helps what God is doing ripple out beyond you.

Need some word of the year ideas for 2022?

If you’re at a loss on which word to choose, I have something for you today. It’s a list of 200 word of the year ideas. All the words carry potential to grow you as a missional neighbor. They are an open invite to this ripple-effect way of living, where the things that God does inside us spill out and touch those around us too.

A word of the year costs you nothing but can change everything. Will you give it a try this year?

No matter what 2022 brings

If I could cover 2022 in pretty paper like a belated Christmas gift, I’d wrap it in God’s presence and tie hope round it like burlap ribbon in the shape of a cross. In my heart of hearts I know that all may not be as I wish it were next year, but I do know that God promises to never leave us without Him. Somehow it feels less like settling and more like grace to know that come what may He will be by my side.

I pray today that God will meet you right where you are and reassure you that He will be by your side no matter what 2022 brings.

A prayer for a word to guide

Jesus, thank you for not going anywhere. As we approach 2022, we know that You will be right next to us, no matter what. We can’t see beyond all the bends in the road, but You can. Would You reveal the word You want to guide us deeper into You next year? In Your precious and holy name, Lord, we pray. Amen.

Change your actual life in less than 5 minutes per day!

You can change your actual life in less than 5 minutes a day because baby steps truly can change the trajectory of your life. If you want 2021 to be the year you actually start living on mission in your neighborhood, this little book (available as a paperback and on Kindle) will help you get there. Each of the 30-day devotions takes but a few minutes to read, but they will lead to lasting life change.

Are we email friends yet?

I send a weekly note to my email tribe, and I’d love to include you! As a thank you, you’ll also get access to everything in the FOR YOU library, including the list of word of the year ideas, inspirational phone wallpapers, and a sample week of Cultivating a Missional Life.