As the Major League Baseball season has recently begun, I’ve been thinking back upon the many seasons that I have played on teams. Now you probably have some fond memories of being on some sort of team. Maybe it was a sports team or a debate team or a choir or a cheer leading team or chess club, maybe you were a part of a team in the armed forces. Many veterans say where they were most fully alive and what they miss the most are the people who were a part of their platoon.

Some of my best memories in life revolve around teaming up with others to accomplish a purposeful task. As a church leader you manage a team of people who like a baseball team all have a unique set of gifts, skills and responsibilities. When everyone uses those gifts in a coordinated fashion, your church will function well as a team. The success of whatever you do in the game of life depends largely on developing a strong team with a deep sense of commitment to a cause and to one another. Real successful teamwork is built on four factors.

All good teams do four things. I put them in an acrostic ‘T.E.A.M.’

TRUST- Trust is the emotional glue that binds people together. If there is not mutual trust between you and the players on your team, then you will never be a cohesive team. Two components that build trust with your team are consistency and confidentiality.

EMPATHY- Trust is built within your team when you take the time to find out about the needs, wants and desires of your teammates. Letting people know that you really care about them is a key component to build trust.

ACHIEVING MUTUAL GOALS- The purpose of any team is to not only play the game but to achieve success together. As the leader of your team part of your responsibilities is to motivate, inspire and celebrate the wins you and your team have together. Achieving mutual goals encourages your team to continue to work together to achieve even more.

MISSION- The reason we as a church play this most important game in the first place.

God is at work in the world, and He has called you to lead His team, the church, to provide ministry to believers and a mission to go into the world sharing the good news with unbelievers. God has called you to recruit, train, love and lead His team to share the victory that has already been won through Jesus Christ.