Leadership and Team Ministry
Leadership principles
Whether you are an experienced leader or very new to congregational leadership, these principles may be useful in your leadership role or as you mentor and disciple others into leadership.
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.
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 to grow 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 there are differences of opinion.
- Care time – Check how everyone is really doing. Not just in their roles but personally. This need not take forever but 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 after. 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 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 ongoing agenda can help.
- End with prayer – Pray together for each other and the ministry.
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 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!
Working with volunteers
Volunteers are vital to the life of our church. Volunteers faithfully serve in congregations and agencies of the LCA throughout Australia and New Zealand to make our mission and ministry happen. They are the body, hands and feet of our church. Our congregations and agencies could not function without volunteers.
The LCA is committed to volunteer involvement in our congregations and agencies and to supporting, resourcing and caring for them properly to the best of our ability. In Australia, we seek to comply with the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement, and they will also be helpful for congregations in New Zealand.
LCA Church Worker Support has a comprehensive ‘Volunteer Guide’ resource, available on the LCA Portal, with accompanying resources, such as templates for role descriptions.
The National Standards for Volunteer Involvement are managed by Volunteering Australia and provide a framework for supporting the volunteer sector in Australia. They provide good practice guidelines for organisations to attract, manage and retain volunteers and help improve volunteer experience.
Working with difficult people
'Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful' (Colossians 3:12–15).
In ministry, you are bound to encounter difficult or challenging people. There will be personality clashes, differing points of view and agendas, people who let you down, lone rangers who refuse to work as a team and many other examples we could list.
The LCA Standards of Ethical Behaviour clearly articulate the standard of behaviour we expect from one another in useful and practical terms. Underpinned by Scripture and church policy, these standards apply to all aspects of church life.
Below are a few approaches that work in dealing with difficult or challenging people:
1. Pray for them
Invite God into the situation and the relationship. God is the one who can change hearts and minds, including yours. Ask for his perspective on the situation and help to see the other person through his eyes. Pray for the other person and ask God to bless them regardless. Seek his guidance, direction and timing for interactions with the other person.
2. Make sure the other person is really the problem
Do an honest self-check. Is there any part you may have played in creating the difficult situation? Be aware of any personal biases and agendas. Make sure that you are not overreacting. Apologise if need be.
3. Stay calm
Take a deep breath – or two or three. Losing your temper and flaring up at the other person typically isn't the best way to get them to resolve the difficulties between you. A calm person is seen as being in control, centred and more worthy of respect. When the person you are dealing with sees that you are calm despite whatever they are doing, you will start getting their attention.
4. Talk with them privately
Do this in an informal, neutral space if possible. Go for a coffee or a walk. Talk through the problem. Listen to the person and hear them out. People are much more open to discussion when they believe they have been heard. Involve them in the solution. What can we do about this?
5. Try to understand their motivation
Usually, no one is difficult simply for the sake of being difficult. Even when it may seem that the person is just out to get you, there is always some underlying reason motivating them to act this way. Rarely is this motivation apparent. Try to identify the trigger: What is making them act like this? What is stopping them from collaborating with you? How can you help to meet their needs and resolve the situation?
6. Let them know where you’re coming from
Let the person know the intentions behind what you are doing. Sometimes, they are resistant because they think you are just being difficult with them. Letting them in on the reason behind your actions and the background of what is happening will enable them to empathise with your situation. This helps get them on board much easier.
7. Communicate effectively
Many difficulties in relationships boil down to ineffective communication or miscommunication. Talk to the person and work with them to establish the best and most effective way to communicate.
8. Get an outside perspective
Trusted colleagues or friends may have experienced similar situations. They will be able to see things from a different angle and offer a different take on the situation. Seek them out, share your story and listen to what they have to say. They might have some good advice to offer. However, this must not lead to gossip or slander. Ensure that the people you talk to can be trusted to keep things confidential.
9. Work at building the relationship
Connect with your colleagues on a personal level. Go out with them for lunches or dinners. Get to know them as people, not colleagues. Learn more about their hobbies, family and life. Foster strong connections. These will go a long way as you work together in ministry.
10. Treat them with respect
No one likes to be treated with rudeness or disrespect. If you treat another person that way, it will not be surprising if they treat you the same way. The Bible says, 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you'.
11. Focus on what you can do
Whatever has happened, acknowledge that the situation has already occurred. Rather than focusing on the other person or what you cannot change, focus on the steps you can take to move the situation forward.
12. Forgive
You may have to do this several times – sometimes on the same day! Forgiveness is not about the other person It is for our own growth and wellbeing. When we hold on to hurt, pain, resentment and anger, it harms us far more than it harms the offender. Our anger, regret, hatred or resentment towards someone means we give up our power to that person. Forgiveness frees us to live in the present and keep moving forward.
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