3 Characteristics of a Healthy Ministry Team

If we’ve learned anything by paying attention to the scandals unveiled in the last 10 years it is that health cannot be determined by signs of external success.

People say “healthy things grow,” which is true. But unhealthy things also grow. All growth isn’t good growth.

Systems and organizations are too complex to base assumptions about their health from visible phenomena alone. I have been a part of ministries that appeared to be dying – and numerically were shrinking – that were growing in health. Fall and Winter are essential for the robust harvests of Spring and Summer. While health can be elusive, we can learn to know it when we touch it.

Healthy ministries don’t all look the same, but there are a few common traits that indicate a measure of health.

1 – Laughing and crying are both welcomed.

In Romans, Paul challenges the church to “Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.” To be a human is to experience joy and pain, but far too many cultures are only comfortable in one or the other. Unfortunately, Christians are often the worst at embracing pain; we’d rather rejoice with the rejoicing and cheer up or avoid those who are weeping. But when I feel truly safe, I find myself in conversations that quickly and naturally move from one to the other.

Healthy teams can embrace their team members wherever they’re at. Are the people on your team free to come as they are? And if they are, do they know it and feel it?

One of my favorite things to see is two ladies laughing or crying together after rehearsal or allow our community sharing time to go long because people are being vulnerable with what they’re facing – good and bad. Pay attention. Do your team members ever share real struggles, disappointments, and pains in front of the team or do they only share the positive things happening in their lives? Encourage your team to be honest with their needs and griefs, but if you really desire health you’ll need to model it for them and create room for it to happen.

2 – People want to give their best without fear.

Most of the ministry done in churches is done with and through volunteers. Unlike corporate America, we don’t manipulate people with pay. Fear makes people do all kinds of things, but when used as a motivator it’s contrary to the gospel. We should motivate with truth, encouragement, and love. We cast a vision of what could be and speak out what we see in people. We create boundaries, structures, and expectations and communicate them clearly and often to protect the sacredness of who they are and what God is doing among them.

We’re called to remind people of what God has said and done, and what we are called to because of it. I have found that when we are doing those things well, people want to give their best. They will buy-in to the extent that they are able. And they will want to get better at their craft, be on time, show up prepared, and collaborate to solve problems in the ministry.

Certainly this will not be the case 100% of the time, but it has been my experience more often than not.

3 – Mutual-submission and shared-responsibility are the norm.

You’ve probably heard the African proverb that says “If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together.” This applies to leading. If you want to get things done quickly, then make all the decisions yourself and tell people what to do. If you want to go longer and farther together, then bring people into the process. Give them a voice. Ask them what they think. Give them real opportunities. Field their ideas for the upcoming worship night or that new arrangement you’ve been wanting to try. It’s easier not to; I totally understand.

It’s easier to make all the decisions yourself, to lead the songs yourself, and tell everyone what you want them to do all the time. But that doesn’t create a healthy team, it creates a predictable product. If we are going to be about helping people grow and fostering the ministry happening in our context, then it will require the risk of empowerment and delegation, which come about from exercising mutual-submission.

This way of leading won’t change things overnight, but it will make room for people to really participate and exercise their agency. One day, someone else might have the solution to a problem you’ve been staring at blankly, but you’ll never know if you don’t give them a seat at the table. Go slower, empower your team, and trust that the people around you are God’s gifts to you. When you believe that, it’s a lot easier to submit to them.

The aim of ministry isn’t to build something big, unique, profound, or successful. Even “health” shouldn’t be at the center of the target. The aim is to use all that has been entrusted to us to point people to Jesus and equip them for the good works to which they’ve been called. Healthy ministries are not perfect and sometimes have deep flaws, but they faithfully point people to the God revealed in Christ who is making us whole and one day will make us new.

10KFAM exists to raise and release spiritual mothers and fathers who creatively shape the future of the church. The primary way we do this is through our Worship School, an 18-month discipleship program rich with community, coaching, and Master’s-accredited content (that doesn’t require any relocation!). Whether you’ve been leading worship for decades or are just starting out, we invite you to join the journey of learning to cultivate and give away what God’s placed in you. Click here learn more about the School.

next worship school begins October 21-25, 2024

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