Team Led/Gift-based Ministry

For many of us, an experience in Sunday School is a teacher in a classroom with tables and chairs. Our impressions of Sunday School are dependent upon that one teacher and what happens in that classroom. If the teacher likes to sing, we have music in our room. If the teacher likes art, we might have a craft project. That one teacher is responsible for the Sunday School hour and all that occurs in it. Through that one teacher, lives are impacted for Christ.

Now imagine a Sunday morning hour with a TEAM of people committed to making an impact on children's lives for the Kingdom. A team in which each member contributes to a portion of the experience. No one person is responsible for it all. But rather, each member brings the God-given ability he or she has and uses it to serve children.

Consider the key Bible passages that teach on spiritual gifts:

I Corinthians 12;Romans 12; Ephesians 4 and I Peter 4.

How might the "gift-based" team approach to ministry look on a Sunday morning? As children arrive they are greeted and welcomed by someone who has the gift of Hospitality. They are checked in and registered by someone with the gift of Administration. The children enjoy Activity Stations that have been set up by someone with the gift of Helps. The Bible lesson is presented by someone with the gift of Creative Communication or Teaching and the children spend time in a Small Group led by someone with the gift of Shepherding.

Each of the volunteers plays a small role. No one person carries the whole program. Volunteers are to fully engage in the specialized passion, whether that is hospitality, administration, creativity, relationships, teaching, or helps. Placing volunteers in their areas of giftedness is vitally important to maintaining a positive, effective ministry.

If volunteers lack a passion for the area in which they serve, their responsibilities become burdensome rather than joyful. Through the team approach, a vivid example is provided for the children of how the body of Christ works. And, as Christ followers function out of their God-given gifts, they will experience joy, feel energized and know God is real, active and at work in them.

Placing volunteers in adult Small Groups with the people who serve with them is another way to care for your volunteers. This gives them an opportunity to experience community and feel loved and cared for. Volunteers-"put in right places. Surrounded by familiar faces."

The Promiseland Curriculum is developed with an assumption that a team of people will be participating in the ministry. The Promiseland Curriculum contains Small Group Leader's Guidebooks for each Small Group shepherd with instructions for activities, questions for discussions and helps for building relationships with the children.