For the past four years at my church, I have been the leader of a children’s basketball league called Hoops. This year, because of the busyness of life, I decided to take a step back from leadership. I’m still a member of the leadership team for the Hoops ministry but am no longer the commissioner.
As we met as a team on Sunday, I found myself with a mixture of emotions. First off, I was excited about the progress and unity we had as a team. There’s a lot of momentum and energy moving forward into this season. But I also experienced a sadness: I was no longer the leader of the team. But there was more to my sadness than that. I realized, I wish this team would have formed earlier.
The first three years there was no leadership team and I felt alone as a leader. Not only that, I felt overwhelmed. My modus operandi as a leader is to do everything myself which, by the way, is a horrible way of doing things. Finally, last year we started the leadership team and it’s definitely made a difference.
Now, in the second year operating as a team we have accomplished so much. We have job descriptions for coaches, leadership team members, and the commissioner. We have also defined a mission statement for the league and clarified values that guide us. This may sound like subtle structural accomplishments but they are so much more than that. Mission, values, clarity on roles, etc. are so valuable in the day-to-day operations of a ministry. Almost every Saturday (game days) I would reference our mission/values when talking to coaches/parents. These things can’t be underestimated.
Most importantly, perhaps, is the ownership the team takes with the ministry. No longer is one person making all the decisions but a team of people. The work of the ministry is now also even distributed among the team. Not only does “many hands make light work” but “many hands make better work.”
Teams, while practical, are not just pragmatic though. We serve a God who is a team (the Trinity), who made us to operate in teams (community), and to be led by teams (leadership of the local church). The idea of using leadership teams in ministry should be no surprise to us…but it often is.
So, my greatest regret in ministry is not valuing a leadership team. Ministry leader(s), I would encourage you, don’t make the same mistake I did. Teams are a valuable tool in accomplishing the mission of your ministry and they are a wonderful expression of the glory of God.
