Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars. (Proverbs 9:1 NKJ)

A Church with one leader will soon disappear

You must be a pillar before you can hew out another pillar. It takes one to know one and it takes one to grow one. Wise master builders put teams together that make churches grow.

Team ministry works for everyone

• It works for the senior pastor. The work load is shared, freeing them up from the stress of leading a congregation by themselves.
• It works for team members by giving them more opportunities for growth and expression within their unique areas of calling. This enables new servant leaders to be developed, further strengthening and growing the church.
• It works for the congregation by more fully meeting their needs and at the same time equipping them for ministry and inspiring them to join in the work.

Team ministry provides a clear biblical pattern for church leadership that will encourage congregational growth without overwhelming the pastoral staff.

Benefits of Developing a Team Ministry

1. Facilitates total ministry: No one man has it all.

2. Brings variety to ministry: Different gifts help cover all the necessary areas of ministry: music, media, children, youth, administration, finances, helps, etc. Every person has their own unique passion—linking our passions together helps us to meet a greater diversity of needs.

3. Greater productivity: “Two are better than one” (Ecclesiastes 4:9). This is the principle of synergy; we can accomplish so much more together.

4. Reiteration of truth: Truth is established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Another voice saying the same thing in a different way reinforces and clarifies truth.

5. Encourages new ideas: Most of the best ideas come from a team environment. It’s called creative collaboration! Creative people encourage and provoke others to think outside the box (see Proverbs 27:17).

6. Checks and balances: This brings accountability which protects against abuse of power, dishonesty and slothfulness (see 1 Peter 5:2-3).

7. Assures smooth transitions: Don’t do ministry alone, have an apprentice and train them how to do your job. This way if something happens to you there will be someone who can take off were you left off. It also prepares workers for new church plants.

8. Keeps you from majoring in mediocrity: You become mediocre by doing a little bit of everything, and not doing anything very well. Teamwork helps you to focus on what you are really good at.

9. Facilitates growth: Unlimited growth potential is determined by the quality of leaders you draw around you.

10. Preserves ministers from burn-out: By sharing the work load and the burden we maintain good spiritual, mental and physical health. We don't want to wear out, drop out or fizzle out. At the end of our life we want to be able to say like the apostle Paul said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

Let’s stay filled up, fired up, standing in our place, doing our part on the team.

Yours for the establishing of great ministry teams that will plant and grow great churches.

Dr George Hill
President and founder of Victory Churches International