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Keys To Longevity #3: BE A TEAM PLAYER
Posted by Kurt Johnston
If you are a youth worker whose sole responsibility at your church is youth ministry, you are a rare breed! But today, I’m speaking to you. My entire youth ministry career has been spent serving at churches large enough to afford the luxury of a full-time junior high pastor. And because hiring a full-time junior high pastor is usually the last thing on a church’s mind, this means they have also had paid staff for just about every other ministry imaginable. And while this type of atmosphere has the potential for wonderful teamwork to emerge, the reality is that it almost always has the opposite effect…silos exist, individual “kingdoms” get built, and competition, rather than a spirit of unity, typically becomes the norm.
So I’ve learned that when a youth worker is willing to be a team player, he or she becomes a rare, highly valuable commodity on a church staff. And, it really isn’t all that hard. Here are three very simple things you can do to be perceived as a team player:
1) GIVE A RIP. It starts here. If you don’t really care about what God is up to in other departments of your church, why would you desire to partner/team up with them? Selfish, silo-driven, protective youth workers don’t have passion for any area of the church that doesn’t include, enhance or politically position the youth department in some fashion. Ask God to give you a heart for the entire church, and you’ll be surprised at how much more natural the idea of being a team player becomes.
2) SHOW INTEREST. Ask questions, reply to staff-wide emails, pop into another team’s meeting to say hello.
3) CHIP IN. Look for ways to pitch in whenever it is obvious another team has a big project or event. Volunteer your junior high department to serve at the senior adult pot-luck. Raise your hand in the staff meeting when the Senior Pastor is asking somebody to lead the month-long “special committee” that NOBODY wants to lead.
I’m sure you’re busy. I imagine you barely have time to do all the stuff your youth worker role requires. My hunch is that there isn’t a culture of teamwork at your church. Therefore it’s really natural to hunker down and focus only on the job you have been asked to do. But just because it’s natural, easy or cultural acceptable doesn’t mean it’s the best way. Take a chance…be a team player; I think you’ll be glad you did!
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