Teams Are Where It's At

I've been working within the church walls for almost 6 years now, and this year I've had a wonderful realization - I NEED A TEAM! I'm a go-getter in terms of music. I like to produce and create and rehearse and perform, and up to this point, I haven't seen a need for a team. But as of late, and especially through prayer, that need is becoming more evident to the point that it's a necessity.

It doesn't matter how gifted someone is, one can only get so far by himself. Without trying to sound arrogant, I consider myself to be gifted in music. There are a lot of things I can do that I don't think are necessarily common to every musician. That being said, there's only so much I CAN do. The needs of a ministry always stretch beyond the capabilities of one person. Maybe this is just another reason God designed the Church to function as a body. Maybe ministry was never meant to be a one-man deal.

Think about Jesus' ministry. Did He show up and do it all Himself? No way. He had 70 disciples with 12 on a more intimate, personal level. Think about how many more people He was able to reach because of them? And because He invested in them, they were able to continue carrying the message throughout the world after his ascension.

Recently, I was at a Michael W. Smith concert in Ft. Lauderdale. I've become more and more of a fan of his because I not only see how he's influenced me spiritually and musically, but I also respect the longevity of his ministry and the people he's reached across the world. He said something that night that I'll never forget: "The reason I've been able to re-invent myself all these years is because I've surrounded myself with great people." Think about it - Smitty most likely has a HUGE team. Musicians who can play their socks off, booking manager, record company, PR, roadies, bus driver, not to mention members of his church and family, publisher, etc. Smitty's got piano chops and great writing skills, but the impact of his ministry depends on a recording studio, an engineer, and everything else I mentioned above.

Maybe if you're a worship leader like me, you tend to think you have to do it all yourself. Maybe you thought that delegating responsibility out to your volunteers would have been laziness on your part. Not the case. As a matter of fact, having a team is a great way to cast vision and to allow others to bring their unique gifts to the table (gifts you may not have), not to mention the "iron sharpening iron" aspect that we need. Do one of your volunteers have the gift of compassion? Utilize them to make phone calls to your choir members. Do one of your volunteers understand how to recruit? Get their advice and let them help you! Are any of your choir members great hosts? Let them host a get-together at their home.

I'm excited to begin implementing teams in my ministry. If you don't have a team, create one! Let your volunteers use their God-given gifts to give some flavor to your ministry!