Team Ministry
Team ministry
'In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us' (Romans 12:5,6).
Teamwork is a part of God's plan for ministry. We are designed to work together in ministry. We were never meant to serve alone and try to do it all on our own.
Some blessings of working in a team:
- We can get more done.
- We can support each other, allowing members to take a break when needed.
- Each person can bring their God-given gifts and talents to the task.
- We can learn and grow through our interaction. Iron sharpens iron!
- We can keep each other accountable.
- We can encourage each other.
- We can pray together, seeking God's guidance.
Building effective teams
Good team ministry requires that the team members:
- Recognise that there is ONE MINISTRY with multiple workers. There may be different roles, responsibilities and levels of authority, but we are all one in Christ. This is the bedrock and starting point for any Christian team ministry.
- Develop a clear and agreed ministry mission and vision that everyone on your team is working towards. It should flow from the overall mission and vision of your congregation or organisation. This becomes the basis on which all ministry is evaluated, rather than personal agendas or expectations. It is the touchstone that you keep referring to and returning to when there are choices and decisions to be made or when you start to lose your way. Develop a ministry plan based on your mission and vision.
- Define the roles or tasks for each person on the team. Clear, current position descriptions or duty lists are a real asset in determining who does what and avoiding oversights or duplication. Defining the roles or tasks is useful and brings greater clarity.
- Know the people on your team and what they bring to the group. Identify, value, affirm and integrate their different spiritual gifts, personalities and teamwork styles. This will help you to work together more effectively, and you will be able to utilise each person’s strengths and abilities.
Remember to celebrate together! This may happen during your regular meeting, or you might plan something special, for example, a special supper, a meal together, or cake and drinks after the meeting. Share the stories. Nothing impacts a team more than stories and testimonies about what God is doing in people’s lives. Your team will be inspired and get behind the ministry if they hear and see what God is doing through it.
Team meetings
Regular, ongoing team meetings should be scheduled to pray, share, review and plan to further the ministry and mission. These meetings are essential for growing the team and relationships within the team. Team building should be part of everything you do, including staff team meetings!
A simple team ministry meeting outline
- Begin with prayer and/or devotion – Immerse the meeting in prayer from the beginning. This will bring you back to what you’re really doing and who you are serving. Don’t be afraid to stop and pray during the meeting if you get bogged down or differences of opinion occur.
- Care time – Check how everyone is really doing. Not just in their roles but personally. This need not take forever, but it is vital to being a team. What is happening in people’s lives affects their role and the ministry. This is a real opportunity to care for each other and grow relationships, not just at the meeting but afterwards. Follow up on care needs and concerns between meetings.
- Review previous action points – What progress has been made? What is still needed? Add anything that needs to be done to this meeting’s action points.
- Ministry sharing – Share what has happened since the last meeting and take the time to review it. What went well and what didn’t? Is there any feedback, and what can you do to improve? When there has been a special, big event, you might want to organise a specific meeting to review it.
- Overall ministry planning – Don’t get stuck in the past or stay preoccupied with the present. Day-to-day issues and the running of a ministry can absorb your time and attention if allowed to. Spend time looking to the future and planning for the next steps. You may need to make a special time or meeting for this.
- Action points – Be clear about who will do what. Ensure the action points are recorded and actually acted on! Simple things like adding names to action points and highlighting them on the minutes or the ongoing agenda can help.
- End with prayer – Pray together for each other and the ministry.
Team or staff retreats
Regular team or staff retreats are well worth the energy and effort you will put into organising and getting away. Whether it is for a day or a weekend, nothing builds team relationships faster than getting away together. You will also find that you can achieve things you would never be able to within the timeframe and ongoing agenda restraints of a usual team meeting.
Some elements that you could incorporate into a retreat program include:
- Prayer – In this context, there is time for individual reflection, group prayer and seeking God’s guidance and direction together for the ministry.
- Review – Reflect on the ministry you share and look back over the past months or years. Celebrate the good. Identify areas for growth and development.
- Planning – Do the big-picture thinking you usually don’t have time for. Discuss possibilities and directions for the ministry. Plan for the future.
- Worship – There is a great blessing in worshipping together as a team.
- Teambuilding – Use some of the many teambuilding activities available to develop and grow team relationships. (See the Team Ministry Guide available on the LCA Portal under Church Worker Support for some examples.)
- Fun – Make the time to relax, enjoy each other’s company and have fun together!
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