Partnership

In Numbers 27:16-17 (MSG) - Moses, a Shepherd-leader, prayed that the Lord would "set a man over this community (congregation - KJV) that would go out before them and go in before them, that the community will not be as sheep without a shepherd".

There must be a "set man" whether he be called, lead pastor, senior pastor or whatever! There must be a captain at the helm of the ship, a coach who leads the team, or a driver who figures out where to drive the bus. The "set man" takes the lead, he then begins to work in partnership with others to fulfill the vision that God has ignited within him to lead the local church.

The benefits of this kind of partnership are enormous! If Moses needed others to minister alongside him, we are foolish to attempt to accomplish the various aspects of ministry alone. No pastor can singlehandedly fulfill the call of God in a local community of believers alone - regardless of how gifted he may be. Doing church as a team . . . just makes sense!

There are few things more beautiful to God than seeing His children serving and working together. For the church to effectively reach its community every ministry and every individual within the congregation must get involved in this team ministry concept.

Every member is a minister. God loves to take plain vanilla people like you and me and through them accomplish extraordinary things! God is looking for people like you, willing to use their abilities, gifts, readiness and talents to achieve gigantic things for Him! Will you be that person??

One of the key reasons many churches today are in a slow but deadly erosion is the failure of the people to accept that the church is in trouble and that immediate changes are needed. Far too many churches are addicted to internal conflict, mediocrity and inward focus. An established church is often entrenched in traditions and therefore change is difficult and often takes longer periods of time. The wise pastor "set man" knowing that change must ultimately take place for the God given goals and vision to be attained, realizes that this process can be sped up by taking the approach of partnership and team effort. This team approach can have a profound impact upon a local community of believers. The idea of "partnership" will resonate and motivate them into action.

As a local community of believers, our main focus should always be on reaching those who are far away from God. Our vision is to be a light to our city and everything we do is to try and impact our community.

A Chinese proverbs states, "behind an able man are always other able men". The truth is that team work is at the heart of great achievement. Look closely at the following . . . . . .

~ Teams involve more people, thus affording more resources, ideas, and energy than would an individual.
~ Teams maximize a leaders potential and minimize his weaknesses. Strengths and weaknesses are more exposed in individuals.
~ Teams provide multiple prospects on how to meet a need or reach a goal, thus devising several alternatives for each situation. (Individual insight is seldom as broad and as deep as a group's when it takes on a problem).
~ Teams share the credit for victories and the blame for losses. This fosters genuine humility and authentic community. (Individuals take the credit and the blame alone.. this fosters pride and sometimes a sense a failure).
~ Teams keep leaders accountable for the goal. (Individuals connected to no one can change the goal without accountability).
~ Teams simply accomplish and do more than a single individual.

If we want to reach our potential and strive for the seemingly impossible each of us needs to become a team player. Remember . . . . individuals play the game - but teams win championships.