The creation and development of a staff in a ministry context is a vital step in reaching out to those in need. It is more than simply hiring a staff, but it is hiring the right staff. It must be about the ‘who’ of the staff before the ‘what’ of the company, which will allow greater flexibility and adaptation to a changing world. (Collins, 2001, p. 42) When creating the right team for a ministry context, team members possess three characteristics: humility, willingness to serve, and team mindset.
Humility is a foundational characteristic of any member of a ministry team. It is through humility that team members own a heart to serve, submit to authority, cooperate with team members, and remain teachable. With Christ as the model of effective leadership, members of a ministry staff that act out of humility to champion “an embodied, relational, and sacrificial” model of ministry that reflects Jesus. (Waalkes, 2008, p.16)
Through humility, a willingness to serve can become almost second nature to members of a ministry team. Jesus’ ministry was all about service to others and sought to instill it in his followers as a cultural norm for his people. (Wilson, 2011, p. 92) The model of the disciples putting Jesus’ teachings into action revealed leadership through exemplary service to others. (Faulhaber, 2007, p.145)
Finally, it is difficult to have a team if members do not have a team mindset. With members already acting out of humility and a willingness to serve, the team mindset is often simply a perspective rather than an attitude. Vital to the team player perspective is having a community to serve within (Irving, 2011, p. 123) which fosters comradery, collaboration, and loyalty among members of the team.
A team of members with such characteristics will effectively minister to their target audience.
References
Collins, J. C. (2001). Good to great: why some companies make the leap–and others don’t (1st ed.). New York, NY: HarperBusiness.
Faulhaber, J. (2007). The Role of Tribulation and Virtue in Creativity: A Sacred Texture Analysis of 1 Peter. Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership, 1(2), 135–147.
Irving, J. A. (2011). Leadership Reflection: A Model for Effective Servant Leadershiph Practice: A Biblically-Consistent and Research-Based Approach to Leadership. Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership, 3(2), 118–128.
Waalkes, S. (2008). Money or Business? A Case Study of Christian Virtue Ethics in Corporate Work. Christian Scholar’s Review, 38(1), 15–40.
Wilson, J. H. (2011). The Serving Organization: Jesus vs. Hierarchy in Matthew 20:20-28. Jounral of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership, 3(2).
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