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Every church needs a strong volunteer team. You can’t afford to hire enough staff to do all God wants you to do in your community.
More importantly, one of the purposes of your church “is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church” (Ephesians 4:12 NLT). Part of equipping your volunteers to serve the church is developing them into an effective team.
Strong churches have strong volunteer teams. So what makes a good team? Every good team has eight traits. When put together, these traits spell the acronym T.E.A.M.W.O.R.K. Here are the next four (the first four can be found here, “The T.E.A.M. in teamwork”).
W – Weekly staff meetings
For years, I asked my team to bring me a brief weekly report on a small 3-by-5 card. This kept the reports short and to the point. Then those cards became our weekly meeting agenda. Today we use email. Here are the four things you want to know as a leader:
O – Open communication
Open communication is the cornerstone of great teamwork. Proverbs 13:17 (TLB) says, “Reliable communication permits progress.” There are three common barriers to great communication:
• Presumption – How many problems have been caused by the phrase “But I assumed…”? Here are some fatal assumptions: assuming that there’s only one way to see a problem; assuming that everyone else feels just like you; assuming that someone will never change (they do); assuming that you can know someone else’s motives (you can’t).
• Impatience ruins open communication because we are more interested in what we are going to say than listening to what others say. Impatience causes you to jump to conclusions.
• Pride– When you think you know it all, you are resistant to feedback, and you become defensive instead of really listening to others and learning.
R – Recognition and reward
The more credit you give to others, the more you develop team spirit. It’s that simple. The Bible says, “Give honor and respect to all those to whom it is due” (Romans 13:7, TLB).
K – Keep on learning
All leaders are learners. The moment you stop learning, you stop being a leader. As I consult with churches, I’ve seen that growing churches require growing leaders.
Another proverb says “The intelligent man is always open to new ideas. In fact, he looks for them” (Proverbs 18:15, TLB). Do you do that? Do you encourage your team members to keep on growing, developing and learning? At Saddleback, our staff is constantly reading books and listening to tapes to sharpen their skills and develop their character.
If you practice T.E.A.M.W.O.R.K. values with your team, you’ll experience a new level of teamwork in your church that will take your ministry to new heights.
Photo source: istock
 | Dr. Rick Warren is a pastor, global strategist, theologian, philanthropist and founder of pastors.com. As a pastor, Rick founded Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., in 1980 with one family. He also leads the Purpose Driven Network of churches, a global coalition of congregations in 162 countries. His previous book, The Purpose Driven Church is listed in "100 Christian Books That Changed the 20th Century." This article was first published on pastors.com. Used with permission. |
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