Starting a church, ministry, or a business can be quite a lonely experience. Usually the God plants the crazy idea into our head and waters it until we begin to develop a passion to pursue His calling. Initially, we tend to fight it, but find that the desire within us to act on God’s prompting just grows bigger and bigger. We are left with no choice but to pursue it with all of our hearts. Isn’t God great?! I am convinced that one of the least known and least talked about aspects of starting any substantial effort is the concept of building a team.

Many times, the visionary begins the mission, doing everything himself or herself. From accounting to fundraising to grant-writing to event planning, this poor soul struggles to pursue what he or she knows to be God’s will – but it takes its toll. The price is paid in the form of bad health, deteriorating relationships, and poor organization. Papers are everywhere and the vision seems too overwhelming at times to keep going. You get tired of trying to “change the world.”

The plain and simple answer is that you have to recruit and build a team. One large obstacle to this is that people with vision tend to believe that there is no one else in the world capable of dreaming and envisioning what God has laid in their hearts. That could not be further from the truth! The fact is that if you vision is truly God-breathed, chances are that God has already begun preparing others with the same vision and the same conviction to help you with the goal. Remember - you don’t OWN the vision, you are just the steward of a promise from God. The promise is that His plans are perfect and that you must move in faith to see it come to fruition. But, you don’t have to walk alone!

DEFINE YOUR VISION

If you don’t define your vision, no one can really decide whether or not they agree. There are times when our vision might be the same as someone else, but because we do not adequately communicate it, it sounds like an entirely different mission. Learn your vision back and forward. This might take some exploration and prayer, but the process alone is worth the time and effort. Narrow your vision to a short and powerful mission statement. This statement will be used whenever you are asked about your mission. It’s that simple. Here is the one from Restoration Ministries: Restoration Ministries is a church that exists to reach out into the community, win souls, and equip them for personal ministry in order to send them back out into the community to do the same.

SET UP CRITERIA

Define what you are looking for in team members. Many people have the same ideas and missions, but sometimes they can tend to clash. Write down a description of your team members. Try to really see your team at work, making things happen as they help you along. A key to deciding on the type of people you need is to understand that if it's not your genius, it’s not your job! Find people who have geniuses that you do not have. IN this way, you can focus on the forward movement of your vision.

TELL PEOPLE ABOUT YOUR NEED

Tell family. Tell friends. Advertise your need. Let people know about the different team members that you are looking for. Perhaps you need a financial person, or someone to help with grant-writing, or a public relations specialist. Either way, be clear about the person’s roles, responsibilities, and compensation – or lack thereof. It’s extremely important to ask for exactly the type of person you need. Here’s an example: ChurchForce is seeking to add a CPA to our financial team. This person must believe wholeheartedly in our mission of uniting the Body of Christ through technology, and must be willing to work for stock options only until such funds are raise that will permit a retainer. We need a team member, not an employee.

CULTIVATE RELATIONSHIPS

Be in it for your team! It you love your team and are devoted to your team members’ well-being, they will do the same for you. Communicate with them and share your life with them. After all, you have entrusted them with the diamond that God gave you (the vision), so let them into your circle. The open and honest with your team about expectations and acknowledge them when they are doing great. Be aware of personality types, and work to bridge the gaps in understanding that exist. Job descriptions may help you quite a bit in this regard.

LET THEM PLAY POSITIONS

Once you assign tasks to your team, give them measurable goals and let them go! Provide clear milestones, rewarding their efforts with praises, bonuses, certificates, or any other form of compensation that may be deemed appropriate. Let them know how much they mean to you, and coach them through failures. Always remember to PLUS them (show them ways to do better) rather than criticize them.

BE THE TEAM CAPTAIN

Many times, visionaries try to be the coach. Instead, try to become the team captain and let God be the coach. Be IN THE GAME instead of on the sidelines. Don’t get comfortable and lay back thinking that your team will do everything. Your team will echo your commitment to the vision. If they see you moving, they will move, too. They will feed off of your energy and move at a maximum equal to your pace.

LET THEM OWN IT

Stay away from language like, “Well, I’m the one who God gave the vision to,” or, “This is MY vision.” The moment that we do so, we cheapen our relationships and reduce them to servants. Let your team own the ideas, including the vision. Let your team make it theirs and they will work for it like never before. Remember, you are only the steward of the vision, but you are ALL responsible for carrying it out. These are a few simple beginning steps that will help you move faster in your rush towards accomplishing the impossible missions that God seems to almost always issue.

I encourage you to utilize a wonderful tool that we created called ChristianJobs.Com. This is an online environment ideal for finding team members from all over the world. Visit the site for details on posting your needs. Either way, building your team is an essential part of doing anything of consequence. God is a God of forward movement and he is one who loves to work through His people. Give those around you the blessing of being able to work with you on your projects. Give them the opportunity to see God’s blessings in their lives through participation in your mission. They will love you for it and follow you into victory!