Ministry teams are wonderful blessings if you know how to work well with others. The potential conflicts go both ways, and you must consider who you are to determine who you need to be around.
As you serve Jesus, there are people you will serve with for brief periods. You might lead a team on the mission field with grumpy members who irk you with their attitudes and actions. You must learn to overcome most of that if you are only around them for a few days. It is a very different situation if you choose a team to serve alongside for a longer time commitment.
If you invest your life in one place for a few years, you need to investigate if the people you are serving alongside will be a reasonable fit.Â
To do so, you must understand yourself and know how you will react to others. Chemists don’t carelessly combine different elements without researching what type of reaction they will have with one another. One element’s properties might behave nicely in one situation, but when paired with another, the results can be combustive.
The same is true with people. While some individuals are more explosive than others, sometimes the problem is the pairing. It’s not that these two people are dangerous, but they might have more challenges when they are near one another.
So, these are important questions to consider when joining a ministry team.
- Have I identified who I am, what works, and what doesn’t regarding my personality?
- Are there certain types of people I must be cautious about working with?
- How do I work best on a team?
- What type of leader inspires me?
- What type of leader infuriates me?
- Are there some team non-negotiables that I must consider?
- How do I need to adjust to be a better team member?
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.
