TEAM WORK

Nowadays, this term is often used in the professional context, to emphasize the importance of the workers of a company joining their efforts for the good of it. But how often do we hear the same term applied to the functioning of local churches? Do we think that it does not matter much if the members of a church work as a team, as long as the pastor is fulfilling his responsibilities? However, I am convinced that God sends His blessing to believers who practice the habit of working together for the cause of His kingdom.

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Although it is true that all the members of a local church should function as if they were a team, edifying one another through their deeds and words, I think that the principle of joint work should be most effective at the level of the ministries that exist within the people of God. In the Bible, the first example of this is the "team of judges" that Moses appointed to help him in the work of solving problems of coexistence that arose among the Israelites (see chapter 18 of the book of Exodus). But it is in the New Testament that we see that this principle is applied more. For example, the Jerusalem church pioneered the idea of ​​each local church having a "deacon team" (Acts, chapter 6). Later, the church of Antioch, led by the Holy Spirit, set in motion a "team of missionaries" (Acts, chap. 13), which began with only two people (Paul and Barnabas), but who grew numerically with the step weather. Within the local churches of the beginning of the twenty-first century, it is not strange that there is a diversity of teams whose components are dedicated to specific ministries. I mean, that a church can have a "team of preachers", a "team of teachers of children and youth", a "team (or group) of praise", etc. Some churches even have a "prayer team" that is dedicated to caring in a special way for people who feel the need to share their burdens with someone.

The existence of these "ministerial teams" is the result of the fact that some believers have realized the gifts they have received from God, and have wanted them to be used for the growth and blessing of their local church, in collaboration with other brothers. However, the Christian approach to the principle of teamwork includes some key points. In the first place, every ministerial team must have, as a common goal of its components, the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, since the work is done under His authority. Second, the relationship between people who belong to a team must always be harmonious and inspired by the love of Christ; In other words, there is no room for personal rivalries, or the desire that one of the components of trying to get others to recognize as the "leader" of the group, even if they have more knowledge and experience than they. And thirdly, the team must be open to the possibility of new people entering, and prepared for the loss of people who have been working on it for some time but who, for whatever reason, can not continue to belong to it.

You can say more things about these points and others that may correspond to this topic. However, I will end up asking a question to the reader of this article: to what extent are you involved in some "team work" that serves to make the kingdom of God known in this place?

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