Effective Church Communications

Effective Church Communications provides Timeless Strategy and Biblical Inspiration to help churches create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission

Effective Church Communications provides Timeless Strategy and a Biblical Perspective to help churches create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission. Our tools constantly change; our task doesn’t; we can help.
  • Home
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
  • PODCAST
  • FREE PRINT TEMPLATES

Are We a Team?

23 January, 2012 By grhilligoss@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss

All church staffs are not teams.

Teamwork is easy to recognize where it exists, but hard to define where it doesn’t. Ministry assistants are often the first to recognize when teamwork is only a phrase tossed about in staff meetings.

While building teamwork is primarily the responsibility of the executive, an assistant can do much toward promoting a more excellent church office team.

Know what teamwork is.
An appropriate definition is: two or more people moving along a path of interaction toward a common goal.

One is not a team, regardless of how effective that one is. There is no team if there is no forward motion or communication. A staff is not a team if the staff members do not have a shared vision. When even one of these three elements is missing, whatever the group is, it is not a true team.

So, if two or more are working on a project—but not communicating—there is no teamwork. If they are communicating—but not focusing on a common goal—there is no teamwork. Knowing this important principle helps you carry your weight on the team.

Understand team dynamics.
When a church staff works as a team, the sum is more than the parts. My results are not simply added yours but the results of both of us are multiplied.

Operating as a team of two, a pastor and assistant will actually accomplish more than they could by operating independently. Each still focuses on his or her own responsibilities but they share a strong dedication to the work of the church. They demonstrate mutual respect for one another, engage in open and honest communication, have common ministry goals, and actively work toward professional growth.

• Know the staff’s strengths.
In excellent teams, each person has opportunity to use what he or she does best. More time is spent on using strengths than is spent on bemoaning weaknesses. Know what your team members (including volunteers) have to offer in ideas and skills. Give opportunity for them to contribute so the end result is the best it can be.

• Aim for results.
Not many church staff members have a hard time staying busy. Even on the least effective staffs, people put in hours. Energy is exerted—sometimes a great deal—but too often little of value is actually accomplished. It is easy for staffs to fall into the trap of majoring on personal priorities or of having no priorities at all. Results suffer.

• Recognize and use your skills.
What do you bring to the team? So much! You contribute personal qualities, people skills, technical competence, and a vast amount of work-related knowledge.

Think beyond your own responsibilities and tasks. Consider how your efforts fit in with the efforts of other staff members. Use what you know—not only to be a good team member, but to be a team builder as well.

You want the answer to, “Are we a team?” to be an absolute “Yes!”

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Tweet
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Pocket
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on Tumblr

Related

Filed Under: Columnist Gayle Hilligoss, Contributors Tagged With: church office, Church Office teamwork, church teams, teamwork

Please share your thoughts, comments, questions!Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Link to Easter Templates of all sorts

Seasonal Templates

  • OVERVIEW of TEMPLATES for Church Communicators, please read first
  • Valentine’s Day Templates
  • Lenten Templates
  • Easter Templates
  • Mother’s Day Templates
  • Father’s Day and Men’s Ministry Templates
  • Graduation Templates
  • Summer-related Templates
  • 4th of July, Canada Day, and GRACE for All Nations
  • See You At the Pole
  • Harvest Festival and Halloween Templates
  • Christmas Templates

Recent Posts

  • Social media images for Easter with challenging messages
  • From our vault: Everything you need for Easter: Templates, strategy, inspiration and encouragement for all your Easter communications
  • Why just “Come to Easter at Our Church” isn’t enough–FREE invitations with short, but powerful messages
  • ESSENTIAL Christmas Communication advice and free tools to implement it
  • A Free Template of the Christmas Story and short gospel presentation based on “Hark the Herald Angels Sing!”

Most read posts

  • Bulletin inserts or social media content for Father's Day; poetry, challenges, encouragements
  • A Prayer for Graduates, Free flyer, bulletin insert
  • An important reminder for Father’s Day that not all the men in your church are married Dads or Dads at all
  • Father's Day and Men's Ministry Templates
  • FREE PRINT TEMPLATES
  • Six Steps to Simple filing
  • Q&A: How to report church financials in the weekly bulletin

Misc. Church Communications Templates

  • Church Connection Cards
  • Business/Invitation Card Templates
  • Back to Church for Kids in the Fall Templates
  • Church Bulletin Template
  • Volunteer and Encouragement Templates
  • 2-page Senior Adult Print Newsletter Template
  • Misc. Church Templates
FREE Bible Verses and Sayings in both print and social media format at Bible805Images.com
FREE Bible Verses and Sayings in both print and social media format at Bible805Images.com
  • Home
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
  • PODCAST
  • FREE PRINT TEMPLATES

Copyright © 2025 · Enterprise Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in