Is your team ready for what comes next?

By RALPH ESTHERBY

In your church, one of the greatest blessings is your team – that group of people that the Lord has gathered to make a difference and impact your community.

Jesus modelled a specific and effective method of raising up leaders. He brought a group of people close and dedicated time to them; exposing them to various situations and tried to prepare them for every eventuality they might have to encounter. Whether it was teaching them to understand the context of the Law and the Prophets, or showing them how to deal with the difficulties of the Pharisees. Whether it was modelling effective communication or demonstrating the balance required in the administration of grace and truth. Or whether it was navigating the day-to-day rigours of ministry or exposing them to the possibility of stepping out into ministry in their own right.

Preparing your team with the right skills

Part of our mandate to make disciples is to prepare our teams with the right skills to provide the care and support that our community needs. Even the most gifted and effective leader has limitations on what they can impart: available time, lack of specialised experience, different development levels of your team and the tyranny of the familiar. All these conspire to inhibit the effect of a locally based development pathway.

The truth is that none of us can be expected to have all of the skills we need to provide effective upskilling for those we lead. This is where partnerships with others are important – working with people and groups who have specialised skills and experience which can make even a young and inexperienced team start to develop high level skills, which will continually yield effective and lasting results.

Chaplaincy Australia is concentrating on helping you impact your community by offering bespoke training options for your team... we hope that you will take the opportunity to connect with us to discuss how we can help your team go to the next level.

Professional Development options include...

• Advancing Pastoral Care

• Introduction to Chaplaincy Skills

• Effective Community engagement

• Mental Health Support

• Navigating Challenging Questions

• Suicide prevention and postvention

• Self-care and Debriefing

• Grief, Loss and Trauma

There is a lot to do, and it is getting more challenging every day. Let’s all work together to make sure that your team is ready for what is coming next!