by Chase | Leadership, Student Min
Let me guess …
You’re on a team of people trying to do something important, but sometimes it feels like progress has stalled.
You see the potential for your team to make a real impact in your church, your community, or maybe even in your state, the nation, or the world. But instead of seeing lives impacted for God, you see a team divided and/or consumed by petty issues.
If this is you, it’s possible your team doesn’t yet have the right core values.
Somewhere along the way, American churches have communicated that comfort trumps the Great Commission.
Churches have created cultures where we beg, coddle, and guilt people into doing what God commands them to do instead of cultivating people who love God and want others to love Him too.
If this is how we fill spots on our ministry teams, then all the members of those teams will be focused on themselves instead of the mission of sharing Jesus. Most of the problems ministry leaders (whether staff or volunteer leaders) face are about preference and comfort instead of the real priority: sharing the Gospel.
It’s time to evaluate your team’s core values. There are a few core values every team needs in order to succeed and keep the focus on sharing Jesus instead of the team members’ personal preferences.
5 Core Values Your Team Must Foster to Succeed
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Less JUDGMENT – More GRACE
It seems that most people love receiving grace but hate extending it. Thriving teams assume that no one is perfect and trust that everyone is working together for the greater good. There are no substitutes for humility and faith.
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Less COMPETITION – More COOPERATION
Are you all working toward the same goal? Great teams are comprised of people who excel in their specific roles. Every role is strategic. Every role is valued. Every role is essential. When all parts work together, the engine runs smoothly. When one person wants to be the loudest and get attention, the team starts to backfire. Those who want to show off often silence others’ great ideas.
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Less ISOLATION – More COMMUNITY
Thriving teams work well together. This is more than a work relationship; teams are invested in each other’s lives. Team members have developed a sense of community. Isolation leads to jealousy, frustration, worry, and loneliness.
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Less CRITICISM – More CONTRIBUTION
Never bring up a problem if you are unwilling to find a solution. When organizational or operational changes need to be made, great teams are willing to roll up their sleeves and contribute toward the solution – not just state the problem.
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Less GOSSIP – More GRATEFULNESS
Nothing divides a team faster than gossip. Confidential issues must remain confidential. Issues must be addressed directly and in person. Thriving teams make it a point to spread gratefulness instead of gossip. They support and value people’s contributions enough to treat them with respect, dignity, and kindness.
These are the values I have found helpful in taking an existing team and giving it the boost it needs to start making a bigger impact. If a team can stack hands on these five values and commit themselves to upholding them individually and as a group, the team dynamic will change and God will use that group of people in ways they never expected or imagined.
I’m always looking for more ways to motivate myself and my team members to go deeper in our pursuit of God and in our pursuit of His Great Commission. What are the ways you achieve this at your church?
by Chase | Leadership
6 Reasons You Need to Pray
– Selma Wilson
Prayer isn’t just for when we are in crisis. Selma Wilson’s post gives six reasons why prayer is essential to every believer.
6 Ways to Better Engage Your Students in Small Group
– Jonathan Holmes
If you are looking for ways to go deeper with your small group or improve your Sunday School class time, these are the ways.
The Best Way to Recruit Adult Volunteers for Your Youth Ministry
– Andy Blanks
Student pastors are always looking for good adult volunteers to serve in their student ministries — but the way to do that may be less about searching for new talent and more about how we as pastors are doing ministry ourselves.
by Chase | How To, Kid Min, Student Min
One Saturday evening not too long ago, Molly decided her life would never be the same. For the first time, she was truly excited about God.
During an amazing weekend retreat Jesus seemed to be closer to her than ever before.
- She finally felt God’s love for her.
- She let go of her guilt over past decisions and embraced what Jesus did for her.
- She developed new friendships with strong Christians.
When she headed home, she was ready to make drastic changes in her life, friendships, and habits. But by midweek, she felt herself slipping away from Jesus.
Once full of hope and excitement about what Jesus could do in her life, Molly has now settled back into her old habits and friendships. She knows life can be different, but she has lost her excitement for God.
Have you ever met someone like Molly?
Perhaps you have had the same experience as Molly – during a retreat you experienced God like never before, but shortly after your passion seemed to slip away.
How to Stay Excited About God – Even When the Retreat is Over
Churches can leverage retreats and events to bring people closer to God, but there must be a plan for maintaining their spiritual passion when they return home.
- Discipleship is ongoing.
- Spiritual growth requires daily investment.
- Developing spiritual disciplines takes intentionality.
The bottom line: Event based discipleship does not develop disciples.
From my vantage point as a family pastor and former staff member at a Christian camp and retreat facility, I have seen tens of thousands of people draw near to Jesus.
My hope and prayer is that those same people will continue to draw near to God when they step back into their day-to-day lives.
Four Essential Habits to Build After a Retreat
Maintain Community with Believers
Retreats force you to journey with other people who are actually seeking Jesus. If you want to maintain your closeness with God when you return to your normal life, you’ve got to make friends with others who want to do the same.
How many people in your close circle of friends are excited about God?
Maintain a Spirit of Worship
When I worked at a camp, I did a lot of mundane and seemingly unspiritual things every day. I mowed fields, used a weed eater for hours, gathered supplies, and did safety checks. But I was also continually reminded that by doing all of those things, kids would be able to hear about Jesus. And that allowed me to take an attitude of worship into tasks that were not directly related to sharing about Jesus.
How can you develop a lifestyle of worship in your workplace, class, or family?
Maintain Daily Spiritual Disciplines
Retreats have Bible study time scheduled for you. Your typical schedule is not that kind. Everything and everybody wants your time. You have to make time for prayer, Bible study, worship, and service.
What spiritual discipline comes to mind as your biggest struggle? What steps can you take to change?
Maintain a “God is Going to Show Up” Mentality
For someone who is already a Christian, you usually go to a retreat knowing that God is going to do something. Significant time, money, energy, and planning go into every aspect of the event – it is structured to allow the time and space for participants to practice spiritual disciplines, be surrounded by people who also want to grow closer to God, and bring worship to God.
Do you usually approach life hopeful and expectant for God to work in you and use you?
It’s your turn now. What changes do you need to make in your daily routine and/or attitude to bring back your excitement for God?
by Chase | Leadership
From time to time, people need to be reminded of the vision. Whether in the workplace, a church, or within your own family, we have to be refocused to remember what is truly important.
Here is your reminder for today:
The local church wasn’t established to create amenities for your enjoyment but ministries for your service.
Somewhere along the way, our focus shifted away from bringing service, offerings, and worship to our local churches to shopping for a church to attend.
Newsflash: The local church was not created to be under your control.
Worship is not about your preferences.
Church budgets are not intended to make you comfortable.
It is about Jesus – His sacrifice, His mission, and His redemption.
For many of us, our focus has shifted toward the amenities we get from the church rather than the commitment we should make to a local congregation.
Let me explain.
My family loves to travel. We aim to take a few long trips a year and schedule in little weekend getaways as our schedules will allow.
After we pick our destination, the next task is lodging. Praise Jesus for Orbitz! I try not to spend hours looking through all of the hotels listed on travel sites, but they have so much to offer! As I click away, I have a list of needs in the back of my head: swimming pool, workout room, free breakfast, cable, free parking, and free internet. Throw in a few other extras and I’m going to book your hotel!
For many, we view the church the same way we view a hotel – “If I’m giving money, it better have the amenities we want!”
As we search for churches we start looking through our list: energetic kids’ ministry, event-filled student calendars, workout facilities/family life centers, coffee shops, encouraging messages, a specific worship style, warm small groups, and on and on.
What if God has called your young family to a church where there are no other young families so that, through your attendance, you could reach other young families in that community?
What if you are supposed to be the only college student in that church because God is going to start a ministry through your service?
The church wasn’t designed for amenities, but ministries. Our expectations must shift from “getting” to “giving.”
The early church in the book of Acts NEVER walked away from the home groups and said, “I would have connected more with Jesus if the bass guitar was a little louder…”
Early followers of Jesus were far more concerned about what they could bring to the table of worship instead of receive from a gathering of believers.
Stop shopping for a church. The Gospel isn’t something that you purchase – it has already been purchased for you!
Are you treating church like a hotel – looking for your must-have list?
Now, having a framework for what you expect a church to be is acceptable. We all have expectations. Just make sure your expectations are not hindering you from committing to a church in which you could both grow deeply and serve faithfully.
Here are a few questions you should ask when you visit a new church:
- Does this church worship, teach, and preach Jesus?
- Have we prayed about joining this church?
- Are there opportunities for us to grow spiritually in a community of believers?
- Are there opportunities for us to serve the church and community?
- Is this church in my community?
Don’t give up on a congregation because they don’t meet your preconceived “needs.” Perhaps you have been placed there to minister in a way the congregation is unable to.
What questions do you think of when you consider a new church?
by Chase | How To, Leadership
Chances are, if you’re reading this, that you are a leader of some kind. Maybe you’re the one in charge of your ministry, maybe you hold a leadership role within it, or maybe you are one of several core volunteers. No matter your position within a team, it is critical to understand how your team is wired so that you (and all the other team members) can align yourselves for maximum success.
All teams – including ministry teams – lose traction when they have the wrong personalities in the wrong positions.
Your mission is too important to lose traction. It’s important. It’s eternal.
Is your team experiencing bumps? Do team members seem frustrated? If people are constantly questioning others’ abilities, intentions, and love for your organization/team/church, then you have lost traction. When your team hits this low, it is hard for things to rebound without some realignment.
Many of these frustrations can be avoided by placing team members in their sweet spots of service.
While I am not an expert in this area, I have experience using several personality and mental makeup tools (such as Strength Finder, DISC, and Myers Briggs) and have spent the past decade participating in ministry teams. For my purposes, I have simplified team members into four separate categories.
Your assumptions may not be scientific, but with enough observation and experience, you too can understand the roles your volunteers and staff work best in.
The Four Types of Team Members
- Watcher
- Watchers are the ones who are sitting on the sidelines gazing upon the work being done by everyone else. While there are various reasons why they are unable to get involved, the bottom line is that they are not in a position to contribute. A watcher is not a team member – they are a passionate fan who doesn’t walk onto the playing field.
- Beware: Most complaints originate from the watchers! They confuse complaining as contributing.
- Doer
- Doers are the ones willing to do the grunt work. They don’t want to plan or make the decisions when they show up. A doer is content showing up, being assigned an area, and working diligently until the job is done.
- Manager
- Managers can delegate assignments to doers to ensure they are completed. These people are able to invest in others and oversee an area, department, or sub-ministry team. True managers thrive when they are able to effectively execute a plan by utilizing the doers around them.
- Leader
- When it comes to casting vision, charting the course, and keeping everyone focused on the task at hand, leaders take charge and invest into the lives of the managers and doers. While the leader will not spend as much time on the front lines of the work, his role is critical for maintaining focus, training the team, and ensuring organizational alignment.
How to Organize Your Team for Maximum Effectiveness
After you understand how each team member functions, start placing them into their sweet spots of service. They will be happier serving in their preferred area and the team will be more efficient once everyone works together.
- Pray for your team.
- If you’re reading this, you probably care deeply about whatever team you’re on. You want to see it succeed. Pray that God would help you see your ideal role and that others would see theirs too.
- Analyze the current makeup of your team.
- A team full of doers will lack direction and initiative. A team full of managers will experience power-struggles. A team full of leaders will only dream up how things could be without experiencing them in reality.
- Encourage team members to step into their true roles.
- Begin to embrace the role you best fit in, and don’t be shy about asking people to step into the roles they are best for. If someone is a natural planner, detail-oriented, and great at motivating others, go ahead and ask them to manage a project. If you notice an individual who is always faithful to do whatever is needed but doesn’t have the time or inclination to do the planning, don’t pressure them to lead an event! Get them to show up the day of and put them to work instead.
How do you need to reorganize your team?
