93610.06 The Church Planting Team

A. God uses teams to carry out His purposes. (2 Timothy 2:2)

1. The Trinity is an example of a team.
2. Jesus poured His life into twelve men for three years.
3. Jesus sent out teams of two. (Luke 10:1, Mark 6:7)
4. Teams are a Biblical pattern (Acts 13:2)
5. Marriage is an example of a God ordained team.
6. Your first teammate is and should be your spouse.
   • The husband and wife should be in unity before attempting to plant a church.
   • God calls husbands to be the spiritual leaders of their families. Your family’s spiritual health is your responsibility. Husbands are to show the same sacrificial love for their wives that Christ shows for His bride, the Church. (Ephesians 5:25.)
   • Other than your relationship with God, your relationship with your spouse is your most important relationship. God requires husbands to love their wives and to commit themselves to the spiritual growth of their wives. (Ephesians 5:25-28.)
   • There are steps you can take every day to help your marriage grow. Each day is an opportunity to make your marriage either better or worse. Just as a gardener gives constant attention to his garden, you should continually cultivate your marriage. These four simple practices will go a long way toward strengthening your marriage.
     • Every day, pray together.
     • Every day, tell your wife you love her.
     • Every day, do something to help her.
     • Every day, pay her a sincere compliment.

B. Teams are more effective than going alone.

1. Diversity of gifts and skills are represented in a team. (1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 2 Timothy 4:11)
2. Teams offer support during adversity and struggle. (Ecclesiastes 4:10)
   • One horse can haul a two-ton load.
   • Therefore, two horses independently can haul four tons.
   • But yoked together two horses can haul nineteen tons.
3. Ask God and seek to build a 5-Fold Ministry Team. (Ephesians 4:11-13)
   • The ministry gifts serve to reveal the plan of God. They are characteristic of a full-time office or calling, rather than a gift that can function in and through any believer. A close look at Ephesians 4:11-13 shows that not all believers have a 5-Fold ministry gift. Scripture clearly says ‘some’.
   • Example: Just because one prophesies, it does not mean that person is a prophet. Likewise, there are some who are in pastoral positions who are not gifted as pastors, but may instead be gifted with the motivational gift of ruling/leadership.
   • The gift should make way for the title. Do not go around, announcing yourself as ‘Prophet X’ or ‘Apostle X’. If you are an apostle or prophet, or you have been graced with any other ministry gift others will see the gift inside you and will acknowledge you and the gift.
   • This acknowledgement does not always include the TITLE of the ministry office or gifting. People who announce and proclaim themselves may or may not be true to their claims. Abuse of this “office” or gifting has caused much concern over the years.

The 5-Fold Ministry Team (gifts) can be presented in an illustration using a hand.

• Apostle – An apostle establishes and builds churches; he’s a church planter. An apostle may function in many or all of the ministry gifts. He is the “thumb,” the strongest of all of the fingers, able to touch every finger.
• Prophet – Prophet in the Greek means to “forth tell” in the sense of speaking for another. A prophet functions as God’s mouthpiece, speaking forth God’s Word. The prophet is the “index finger,” or pointer finger. He points to the future and points out sin.
• Evangelist – An evangelist is called to be a witness for Jesus Christ. He works for the local church to bring people into the body of Christ where they can be discipled. He may evangelize through music, drama, preaching, and other creative ways. He is the “middle finger,” the tallest one who stands out in the crowd. Evangelists draw a lot of attention, but they are called to serve the local body.
• Pastor – The pastor is the shepherd of the people. A true shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The pastor is the “ring finger.” He is married to the church; called to stay, oversee, nurture and guide.
• Teacher – The teacher and the pastor are often a shared office, but not always. The teacher lays the foundation and is concerned with detail and accuracy. He delights in research to validate truth. The teacher is the “pinky finger.” Though seemingly small and insignificant, he is designed specifically for digging into tight, dark places, shinning light
• and picking apart the Word of truth.

When it is not possible to have all 5 Ministry Gifts represented in your team, a church planter must be sure that the team has a diversity of gifts to be sure that the team is more effective and can reach all kinds of people.

C. Training a team is more than recruiting. Training is discipleship.

1. Instill the church planting vision into your team members so they can embrace the vision and plan.
   • Vision should be clear, distinct, brief and compelling.
     • Clear: Vision should be written and communicated in a way so there are no questions about the vision.
     • Distinct: Vision needs to be real and tangible for people to engage.Brief: Vision need to be concise so that your team can easily understand and communicate it to others.
     • Compelling: Vision needs to be compelling and able to motivate team members, as well as future church members.
2. Instill the church planting values into your team members.
   • Values of the church planter and the team should be consistent.
     • Consistent values bring unity to the team.
     • Consistent values allow the team to solve problems together without division.
     • Consistent values bring stability should a problem arise, or an accusation be made.
   • Teach about values that define your personal walk with the Lord, as well as the values that define your church plant.
     • Model and practice the values in your home.
     • Model and practice the values in public.
     • Engage your team to model and practice these values in their every day lives.
3. Discipleship requires time and energy.
   • Discipleship is not a program but a process of growth through relationship.
   • Jesus invested the entirety of his time, energy and effort into twelve men for three years.
   • Some people will grow faster than others. Some people will grow more mature than others. All people require time and energy to be discipled.
   • Limited time spent in discipling and training your team, will produce disappointing results.
   • Guide people to a place of spiritual maturity so that they can begin to help others in a similar fashion.
   • Identify people’s talents, skills and knowledge. Help people determine what they are really good at, and then position them to serve in that capacity.
   • Focus on people’s strengths, and help them grow and succeed with their strengths.
   • Address character issues in the process of discipleship. People with skills, knowledge and personality that lack integrity will end in moral failure.
   • Having the right people in the right places is essential to team building. A team’s dynamic changes according to the placement of people. Review the following information from Dr. John Maxwell on team building and placement.

• The Wrong Person in the Unnecessary Role = Regression, you’ll decay
• The Wrong Person in the Necessary Role = Frustration, you’ll be disappointed
• The Right Person in the Unnecessary Role = Confusion, they won’t know why they’re serving here
• The Right Person in the Necessary Role = Progression, you’ll move forward with success
• The Right People in the Right Roles = Multiplication, you’ll build momentum with many