Team Building

Luke Kuepfer • December 25, 2020

[Coaching Lesson #1 from our Serving Leadership Development Program—Building Effective Teams, Phase 3]

A team is a group of people working together in a cooperative activity toward a common goal.

Team building is a process that develops cooperation and teamwork within a group or work unit. To be an effective team builder, a leader needs to activate, train, and lead in a manner that inspires team members to work together in a cooperative way that accomplishes their assigned mission/purpose.

Building teams is a critical skill for a leader in that teams are capable of accomplishing things that no one person could do by themselves. To be effective, a team must be committed to a common vision and purpose, and be willing to work together for the purposes of the team rather than for themselves.

Case Study: Jesus as a Team Builder (Mark 2:14-17)

Jesus was the greatest team builder of all time. His team—the disciples— built His church and “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6).

Jesus demonstrated important principles of team building by selecting Matthew as one of his disciples. He strategically selected specific people for specific reasons, considering different skills and abilities. He saw Matthew’s potential to become an apostle and a writer. Even though the disciples came from different backgrounds and had many different skills and abilities, Jesus was able to mold them into an effective team that loved and cared for one another.

Jesus’ Leadership Principles for Effective Team Building

Have a clear mission and vision (Luke 4:18-19).
Select team members based on their gifts and skills (Luke 5:9-11).
Train team members to fulfill their responsibilities (John 17:8).
Empower and trust team members to perform their duties (Luke 9:1-6).
Assess/evaluate your team member’s performance and give them feedback (Matthew17:14-21).
Recognize and reward your team (Mark 10:29-31).