Calvin Synod Herald, 2010 (111. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2010-05-01 / 5-6. szám
6 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD How to Build a Model Team What is a model team in a church’s life? A model team is basically a ministry team, a small group of people that consists of potential lay ministers whom the pastor knows and can effectively pray and work with. This team can be a great help, providing encouragement and support in the ministry life of any pastor. If a model group works properly and effectively, then other new ministries may be born out of this initiative. There are several important principles of how to build a model team in a traditional Reformed congregation, according to my experience: 1. Everything rises and falls on prayer. It is the first and most important task for raising a model team in a church’s life. God is working behind the scenes and He can identify potential lay ministers. A Human Approach Continued from page 5 before or after meal or with water. Similarly, the Holy Spirit will not do our work instead of us. The Holy Spirit enables us and is not a substitute for our efforts. Additionally, medicine is not given to us without asking. Rather, our physician prescribes medicine after a visit in the office or hospital. And only after examination and tests will our physician prescribe the medicine that is best for us. So should we not ask our Heavenly Father for spiritual help? We must also keep in mind, that there is effective medicine - and placebos that look and taste like the real thing, but are in fact not the real thing at all. Are we not exposed to false imitations of the Holy Spirit? Even the most effective medicine will not make healthy living and preventive measures unnecessary or superfluous. We must keep in mind that the Holy Spirit joins our faith and love and will never fill the vacuum in our heart created by the lack of Christian virtues. We know too, that medicine should be taken as directed. Similarly, we do not tell God how and when to give the Holy Spirit and how we wish to use it. The Holy Spirit is given to us for a specific purpose. In certain cases, medicine means life or death! And the work of the Holy Spirit - or the lack of it - may make the difference between salvation and condemnation. As we participate in a health care program for our own interest, likewise we belong to a congregation for our healthy spiritual life. We are also aware that we pay for the knowledge and service of the doctor and pharmacist. Following the same line, do not the clergy deserve his or her compensation? Finally, we understand that we take medicine for our own benefit. And upon reflection, we must realize that we do not become Christians for the sake of the church, clergy, or community. The Apostle Paul teaches: "We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. ” 1 Corinthians 2:12-14. Rev. Alexander Jalso 2. Get to know the people, the members in the church, in order to find the best candidates to count on, trust and effectively work with. 3. Build a team. After selecting individuals from the prospective list of church members and building relationships with them invite them to become part of the God given vision. Personally invite people to join the team. Begin the model team small, with five or six people. 4. Build trust in the team. Building trust within the team is to get to know each other, to listen to and understand each other. That is where true fellowship begins. 5. Communication is very important between the leadership body (Consistory), the church and the team, and vice versa. 6. Leading a team and building an effective fellowship should be a step-by-step process. Additionally, making and leading any changes in the life of a traditional congregation will be a slow process with many details and decisions. 7. The team needs to be clear about what the church’s current situation really is. Realizing where the church is “coming from” and what incidents have had an influence on its life is an important part of seeing reality objectively. 8. It is essential for the team to have a common goal and purpose. It helps the participants to remain focused on their calling. 9. Leadership team meetings need to be regularly scheduled (once or twice a month). That is one of the great ways to grow in love and be strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit, to be strong and bold enough for the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, and stand up for one another and support each other. My Personal Experience with Building a Model Team In the early fall of 2008 God put a team together through me following the above written principles. After spending a couple of months in prayer God brought five names up in my mind several times. I talked to these five people individually, whom I had a good relationship with, about starting to meet regularly. They all accepted the responsibility and challenge and were enthusiastic about it. We named our group the Vision In Prayer Team (VIP Team). The main focus of these meetings was on searching for the Lord’s will. We were exploring what our mission, vision and purpose was as a church. Additionally, we strove to develop a plan for church growth. From September of 2008 to August of2009 the team completed our church’s Mission and Vision Statements and its Goals. These were presented to our Consistory and church, and also at the annual conference of the Calvin Synod. The way it was received showed me that having mission and vision statements and goals was a new phenomenon for most of the members of our Reformed churches. I also saw, however, openness to know more about it. I am thankful to God that He accomplished this great work through our team members because we set a good example for our congregation and for our whole denomination. I will continue to work with the team members to find new ways and ministries that will work for us and be a blessing, not just to our own congregation but to the Reformed churches in America and in Hungary, as well. Rev. Dr. Csaba G. Krasznai
