Jan Adventure.indd 11
16/12/12 8:56:28 PM
leadinG a Team I have clear memories of the first time I ever led a team. I planned, I prepared, I produced lots of ideas. I worked very hard. But after a few months, I realised something – my team had disappeared. I took great comfort from my Bible as I read about Jesus and his disciples. Things didn’t always go well for him with his team either. I learnt a lot from reading about him, and I came to realise that building healthy teams takes time and skill. These days, there are 4 elements I like to think about as I work with teams:
2. relaTe
1. Pray The most important thing is to rely on God in your leadership. Pray for yourself and pray for your team regularly. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you and them.
Yes, the task is important. But it is the depth of the relationships that will add quality to the life of the team, and model a positive faith community to the children. It is very important for people to feel you connect with them relationally.
3. Train and model Think about the skills that your team will need and how to help people learn them. Use a mixture of teaching, modelling and mentoring. Include training as a regular part of all your meetings and make the most of training events run by others.
4. TrusT Support and mentor people, then trust them to have a go for themselves. But make sure you give lots of appreciation and encouragement, and help them evaluate what they are doing against your overall aims regularly.
These 4 elements are worth doing because having a good team is a vital component of an effective children’s ministry. Think about those 12 disciples that Jesus worked with and how, after an unpromising start, they went on to change the world. May God bless you and your team as you work together, and may he work through you to change the world of the children who you work with. Hilary Hague Team leader, Children and Families Ministry
Jan Adventure.indd 12
16/12/12 8:56:28 PM
Go te
We m
d.
THE FLOATING STICK
1. Try this with your team to get them talking about how they work together. It’s not as easy as it sounds! • Ask your team to line up in two groups facing each other, and point the first finger of each hand out in front of them. • Place a long piece of bamboo on top of their outstretched fingers so that it is balanced along the top of each person’s fingers in a straight line. • Ask the team to lower the stick to the ground without holding onto it in any way, or losing contact with it with their fingers. • Make sure the stick stays balanced on each person’s fingers at all times. If anyone stops touching the stick, the team must start again.
2. Discuss the following: • • • • •
th o e y
What was difficult about the challenge? How did you respond in the beginning? How well did you manage as a group? What skills did the team need to succeed? What were your strengths and weaknesses?
3. Here are some key signs to help you know if your team is going well.* • You have a variety of skills, personality types, • • • • •
to s. e d lp y
• • • • •
gifts, etc. There is creativity flowing. People have enthusiasm for the task. People have clear vision. Mistakes viewed as opportunities for growth. Problems are faced together. A problem is seen as a challenge for the whole team, not the fault of an individual. Good relationships exist outside team. People have open communication. People have friendships at all times. The team knows when to use outside help. The team have regular reviews.
Discuss these signs with your team. Which ones match your team? Which ones can you work on?
4. Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 together and pray.
try.
e er,
e y
*These ideas come from Teamwork: how to build relationships by Gordon and Rosemary Jones. Reading their book will help you think about why teams are so important, how to build an effective team and ways of learning to communicate better. We have a copy to give away to the first person who rings up and mentions this magazine. If you miss out, it’s available from www.sunz.org.nz for $29.99 Jan Adventure.indd 13
16/12/12 8:56:29 PM
Jan Adventure.indd 14
16/12/12 8:56:30 PM