I recall praying in one room of our two-bedroom apartment in which I’d made the ministry office. About two years earlier, I’d launched the ministry. Sitting at my computer desk staring at the screen, I looked at a spiritual gift profile of the person who would serve as our first hired team member. Earlier that year I was asking God for help and to send me a team. My prayers actually sounded like this, “‘God if you don’t send me a team, I quit!”’ Have you ever been there?
If we’re honest, I’d dare say we’ve all been there. I don’t know about you, but when I answered the call of an Evangelist, I wasn’t thinking about a team. Instead, I was focused on preaching the Gospel! However, I quickly realized not having a team actually limited me from opportunities to preach the gospel due to all the other menial, but important tasks that come with the territory of leading an organization. Something had to shift. Upon successfully hiring our first staff I figured out that I was the shift. At the onset, I was asking God, “Lord send me a team.” While you may notice, my statement came from a mindset as if God was totally in charge of building me a team. But this was not the biblical blueprint Jesus left behind. In essence, God was saying, “You want a team, go build one.” This was a WOW moment in our ministry and my leadership. I recognized that if the ministry would grow with new people, I would also need to grow in my ability to discover, develop, and delegate to them.
One day sitting in the office of a retired businessman, and one of the greatest personal disciplers I have met, I asked him, “How did you build such a successful business?” His response, “if you want to build anything you must learn to build people.” Sound familiar? This was exactly Jesus’ model with the disciples. He spent time developing twelve men, finally entrusting to them the ministry for which He gave His life. Are you asking God to send you a team? What type of people are you looking for, producers or projects? Jesus didn’t spend time looking for superstars, he took raw people and formed them into their purpose. After several years and seeing how God has grown our team, He didn’t do it alone, He used me. Just like He is willing to use you as an answer to your own prayer. So what’s your next step for building a team?
Let me share with you some practical tips I’ve used to build our team.
- Prophesy: Speak what could be. Support it with Scripture and trust God!
- Prayer: Begin to share with God and hear His heart.
- Plan: Have a specific role as to what you need from the person.
- Proximity: You need to be where people are (coffee shops, churches, gyms, etc.)
- Petition: Invite them to join you in the vision and mission of God, and your ministry org.
- Perfect: Help the person develop and mature in their faith, skills, and leadership.
- Propel: Extend opportunities to do what God has gifted them to do.
Remember, God did not call you to do what you are doing alone. He is calling people to serve alongside you! Keep believing, keep praying, and stay open to the option that you are the answer to your prayers.
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