The Team Life

The Christian life is never to be lived in isolation. God has made us to be in community. God Himself is three in one and is in constant community in His divine existence. A Christian must always be in the midst of community or have the support of community, even when they are at a distance physically from those they love.

I was reminded of the importance of the Team Life in India. Scott, David, and I went to India as a team. This was crucial to our success. As a team, we brought our individual strengths and used them to help God's effort He had called us to. There was no wasted gift. Each strength was used for the whole.

There were four basic activities on this trip where the team in God's grace and power was able to succeed.

The first activity was travel. Traveling is one of the most difficult parts of any trip. If anything is going to go wrong, it usually involves travel. Many times planes or trains are delayed. Luggage can easily get lost or not delivered. Sometimes cab drivers take passengers to the wrong places without the passenger even knowing they are in the wrong place. Our team was able to use our cumulative strength, wisdom, and discernment to get the team where we were supposed to be.

The second activity was preaching. Each of us brought three messages to the pastors and their families and friends. Scott focused on the what the Gospel is and how prayer works. David focused on Discipleship and the principle components that are necessary for people to be made into disciples. I focused on leadership and what the specific roles and functions are for a leader. We each had different strengths and areas of competency that were utilized to bring a holistic training to these indigenous leaders.

The third activity was hiking. We had to traverse a long windy wet trail for several hours to get to the villages where we would be sharing the Gospel. The rain actually made the trail a creek in some parts. We had to deal with detours, leaches, and falls. All along the way we were there to pick each other up and provide strength and direction for the trip. We sang hymns and prayed as we went and gave God praise and joy to each others' hearts.

The fourth activity was encouraging the mission team. We spoke into these precious people's lives with a Word God had given us to give to them. Each of us had a different perspective that brought together a single message from God: "You are here by God's divine calling and are equipped for this good work. Continue in the task before you and do not lose heart. Know that the Spirit of God has gone before you. Jesus is with you. God is working in all things to accomplish His perfect will. The churches are with you."

Our team was a good one. We were able to serve the missionaries who are serving as an amazing team.

Everyone needs to be a on a team. You need to have people that you are journeying through life with and sharing your experiences. You need other people and they need you.

Who is on your team? Write down their names, pray for them, and get together with them soon and talk about team life.