NEVER SERVE ALONE: Building Great Teams.
(You can buy a copy of the audio from this talk over at the mp3 download center for The Kidmin Conference by following this link j.mp/pKSdF4 )
We need to build teams not recruit help. Jesus spent 3 years pouring into the team he built.
Mark 1:16-18
16As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of
Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. 17And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
Jesus built a team. We need to build teams like He did.
1. Jesus wasn’t looking to pad his numbers he was looking to pour into people
2. He said follow me and I’ll make YOU great.
3. He didn’t lead apologetically
4. He didn’t burn leaders out he looked for potential
5. He knew one day he would be gone.
Jesus built a team because he knew that one day he would be gone. One day you and I will be gone and we can either leave a team or leave a mess the choice is ours.
If you want to be a one man show and recruit fans to adore you. You will leave a mess. If you build a team and do it the right way the leaders you poured into will take what you built to the next level.
What volunteer Recruitment is
filling holes
Begging for help
Come and watch
Support my gift
What Team Building is
filling roles
Asking for help
Come and do
Discover your gift.
Relationship is more important than anything else – people will serve to the depth of relationship you have created.
How to Practically build a team? Externalize Everything.
Externalize Vision & Values –
Every time you open your mouth you need to be speaking vision and values. People forget vision leaks.
We have the 4 Beatitudes in Uptown. Everything we do comes down to one of them.
- BE safe
- BE courteous
- BE engaging
- BE consistent
I am so sick of them but that’s because I live them. The reality is just when you as a leader are getting sick of something it’s just starting to click with your team.
We had our shirts made up to represent each value
We talk about one every week in our weekly volunteer meeting.
Externalize Expectations.
Job Descriptions – How to make one and why they matter.
Constant communication. – If you think you are being clear you aren’t the more you can amplify and clarify your message and give it handles make it portable the greater your chance of having your message reach and transform your team culture.
Externalize Structure
Write out all your holes and all your roles
Make a weekly list – If you act on suggestions they will give you feedback
Write out a what only you can do list – “Sometimes you have to let go of what you like to make what you love better”
– What can only you do – Write down two things only you can do. Write down two things you do others can do.
WHAT DOES A HEATHY TEAM LOOK LIKE?
1. Common Goal – If everyone on the team doesn’t share the same goal and know where you are going you will never win.
2. Chemistry – I remember the 1996 Yankees they were amazing what was so amazing is there wasn’t a superstar among them. Scott Brosius played 3rd. Everyone who knows anything about baseball would tell you A-rod is a better player but as a fan I miss Brosius. What the 1996 Yankees had was chemistry.
3. Organizational clarity – When everyone on the team knows where they are going the part they play. We talked about this in the externalize
4. Mutual trust/dependence – If all the members of the team don’t feel that they need each other and can trust each other your team will never grow beyond the level of your collective insecurities.
5. Mutual submission – (I stole from Andy Stanley, love his spirit He has an amazing kids pastor Kendra Fleming If you can only read one kidmin blog don’t read mine read her’s Inside northpoint kids)As a leader or member of a team you need to submit to each other you need to humble yourself and listen to each other and even go a step further and roll up your sleeves and help another team member even though you don’t have to because we as church leaders need to lead like Christ.
Philippians 2:3-8
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
6. Need to know who the leader is – A team never replaces a dynamic leader. I in no way want to imply that a team replaces a leader. God gives leadership and those entrusted with it must lead, not apologizing but always mindful that they are leading because God has allowed them the opportunity.
As the leader never ever stop asking yourself who you are (because you teach what you know and reproduce who you are) and what only you can do.
You as the leader must be the heart
You team has to be the body.
Resources
Volunteers that stick –
Transforming Children into spiritual champions
The New Breed
The Volunteer Revolution
The Effective Executive
5 comments On Group Kidmin Conference: Never Serve alone notes
Thanks for sharing this. Great ideas about vision & ministry, regardless of where you lead.
I see that you have a weekly volunteer meeting…how to get volunteers to attend? Mostly, we have the same volunteers we had 3 years ago and they are just tired. How can I help them feel refreshed, re-energized and excited about serving such an awesome God in such an important way?
Kameron thanks for your comment. When we had one service I would do a 5min meeting after the service to get feedback and speak vision, now that we have two services I hold the meeting in-between both services. I find that I honor their time and they are a captive audience. They appreciate the fact they don't have to come out another night for a meeting.
Thank you for the notes! I really wanted to attend your workshop! I just ran out of time.
Thank you so very much!!!!!
Sam, thanks for sharing these, they are great!. Really agree with you about externalizing things, people follow vision and passion.