FRESNO, Calif. (ABP) — Deserved or not, committees — especially in Baptist life — often conjure negative connotations.
The term is borrowed from government and corporate culture, says Don Simmons, owner of Creative Potential Consulting and Training, a management and training consulting company based in Fresno, Calif. And committees have a reputation for long, boring meetings that accomplish nothing and rarely “take a person's giftedness and passion into account.”
A better option for churches wanting to organize their leadership structure is to form “ministry teams,” he said. While committees focus on tasks and agendas, ministry teams emphasize personal development and relationships: “Teams require a very human element — trust — that may not always be operable in committees.”
The team concept allows everyone to bring their ideas to the table, agreed Jim Dees, director of equipping ministries at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, Calif. Instead of the top-down leadership of committees, teams give the freedom to brainstorm ideas, he said.
The personal element generally means teams have a longer life, too, as people often choose to serve longer when they have developed relationships.
“At First Baptist Church [in Jefferson City, Mo.], committees are nominated by the enlistment committee and then voted on by the church to serve mostly three-year terms,” said Jeanie McGowan, associate pastor of equipping at the church. “Teams are led by volunteer leaders, and they can enlist anyone they choose, and folks can serve for as long as they choose, making one-year commitments as they go along. You may serve on more than one ministry team, but we try not to have anyone serving on more than one committee at a time.”
At Calvary Presbyterian, mission teams are lay-driven. While a minister or member of the equipping team may come up with an idea, it is soon passed on to a member of the congregation.
Dees said the change to a team-based structure changed the church's ministry.
“It changed our church culture. Teams have greatly impacted the mobilization of people,” he said. “We've seen an increased number of church members involved in ministry in the community.”
But team-building requires commitment to a clearly defined mission, Simmons added.
“While some committees may function as teams, in order to build and sustain teams, leadership must be intentional and driven by a definitive purpose,” he said. “Teams do not happen accidentally — they are built with time, trust and tenacity.”
It took Calvary nearly two years to get the systems in place to start their equipping ministry, Dees said, and mission teams continue to evolve as new people get involved.
What's more, committees cannot — and should not — be changed into teams overnight. Simmons recommends changing one team at a time.
“Start with the most obvious areas where teams may already exist, and then work to make them models for the rest of the church,” he said.
Youth or student ministries may be a good place to start. Churches also may have worship or mission teams already functioning that can act as models for other changes.
Simmons emphasized that “a committee becomes a team through their behaviors, not just their language.”
The next step in building a team is practicing essential relationship functions. “Good teams eat together, drink together, play together and pray together — usually in that order,” Simmons said.
One of the most joyful teams Simmons served on was designed to provide services for a large hospice facility.
“With deep respect for the patients, our team knew that it was important to sing, dance, laugh and joke with one another and with the hospice staff in the face of great pain,” Simmons said. “Our fun was contagious, and we were often asked to train other teams of volunteers about the need to ‘lighten up' with one another, to encourage long-term service and to prevent burnout.”
The team's laid-back nature wasn't accidental, however. “The fun we had was evidence of our care for one another and was borne out of time with each other outside of our service time,” Simmons said. “We shared meals often and committed enough time to knowing each other to be authentic with our joy.”
Another step Simmons recommends is forming a team covenant. Covenants are designed by team members to give relational boundaries and guidelines on how the team will function.
“Some believe that developing a covenant is useless time consumption, and if the covenant is not authentic and practical for the ministry team, then it may become just that,” Simmons said. “If the covenant is developed and written by the team, for the team and used intentionally, then the covenant can be the guide-star for the team's work.”
Simmons said there are six guidelines for developing a covenant that supports the work of a ministry team:
— Write the covenant as a team. Use time in the first two team meetings to develop the covenant.
— Keep the covenant focused on behaviors that are authentic and practical. Be sure to include areas such as attendance, punctuality, fun, contributions, conversations, confidentiality and documentation.
— Review the covenant at each team meeting. Allow for revision if a covenant area is being ignored or bypassed regularly.
— Discuss behaviors as a violation of the covenant, not as sin or personal disappointment.
— Review and “re-covenant” each time a new member joins the team to ensure ownership is understood and valued by the entire team.
— Write the covenant in everyday, authentic language. Even the Bible was written in the language of the ordinary person.
“A team covenant can make the difference between a cordial work group and a highly functioning team, if the process of developing the covenant is authentic and realistic,” Simmons said. “The time invested in covenant creation will greatly benefit the team in fluidity and performance.”
Ultimately, Simmons said, teams benefit the church because “people matter. The fun that we have with one another exhibits to people that we are not only willing to share the work and tasks but willing to share our very lives.”
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