I once had a conversation with the lead pastor of a large multi-site church. He made the profound statement, “We can't afford to pay people to do the work of the ministry; we can only afford to pay people who will equip others to do the work of the ministry.” This statement stuck with me. It can be so easy to think that if something needs to be done, we need to hire someone to do it. Yes, there is a time when we need to hire additional staff, but we cannot fall into the trap of believing that we will not grow and expand until we hire someone. We must be willing to build the team before we can buy it.
The idea of building a team can be quite intimidating: How do I start? How do I train them? How do I position them as leaders? What if they leave after I train them? The following four strategies can help us not only build a team, but also prepare them as leaders.
Encourage
One of the best ways we can build tech team members in our ministry is to start by encouraging them. It is vital that we let people know that we believe in them. Do you find it difficult to encourage those around you? If so, it will be difficult for you to sustain a technical team. To be successful leaders, we must always encourage those on our team and let them know that we believe in them and they are valued. They might not be able to see the gift that is in them, so it is our privilege as leaders to see the gifts and pull them out in their serving.
"As we change our focus from leading others to developing leaders, we will begin to see our vision come to life. It begins with us."
Matt Perkins
Worship Arts Pastor, Peoples Church, Fresno, California.
Instruct
Without instruction and boundaries as the foundation for your team, it can create frustration between its members and you. Simply be clear with your vision, because you are entrusting your heart to those who are willing to help carry it out. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing someone in your ministry develop and take ownership over what they have been entrusted with. As leaders, this is where the job can be physically, mentally, and spiritually demanding, but the result is incredible; you are taking your team with you on the same page. We need to educate teammates not only on the “how,” but also the “why.”
Empower
If driven, diligent, and equipped people join our teams, we will need to empower them and allow them to lead. Our responsibility will be to create room for them to serve. It is a blessing to gain eager recruits, but it is our job to create an opportunity for this to be fulfilled in their lives. This will also provide a safe environment for them to experiment with their passions, but it requires our full support. I understand this is scary, but we have to trust the individuals that are willing to serve with us. As leaders, get creative. Allow room for others to succeed and fail. Failure is inevitable, but we need to provide a safe zone for those failures, as well.
Evaluate
We don't get what we expect—we get what we inspect. We always need to evaluate what is happening in our ministry. This is a way of maintaining the goals we set, as well as staying in communication about our successes and failures. Give team members feedback on how they did, and provide a balance of honesty and encouragement. Look for progress, not perfection.
Each of these strategies works together and not separately. As leaders, I challenge you to be visionary as you lead your teams with intentional instruction, encouragement, evaluation, and value. Our essential role is to build more leaders. As we change our focus from leading others to developing leaders, we will begin to see our vision come to life. These strategies will create a strong team, and therefore be the catalyst for a stronger church. It begins with us.
Matt Perkins serves as worship arts pastor at Peoples Church in Fresno, Calif. Previously, he served as worship pastor at Faith Assembly in Orlando, Fla., for seven years. In addition to his local church ministry, Perkins has a heart to equip, connect and develop leaders in worship ministry.
