How To Build A Winning Team. Serving God Together

“Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”

    Judges 6:14

The name of the man was Gideon. After overcoming his own intimidations and doubts, he finally rose to be a national leader who broke the yoke of the Midianites and delivered his nation from the occupation. The story of Gideon is one of the most vibrant and exciting stories in the Old Testament, still inspiring us to believe that God can deliver, even from the most wicked oppressor.

Reading this tale, there is one particular thing that strikes me. And that is, even though the whole nation was spiritually broken and in chaos, when a leader appeared, he was able to rally them and bring back their faith in victory.

“But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon; then he blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him. And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, who also gathered behind him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.”

    Judges 6:34–35

Gideon gathered tens of thousands of men, and even if God later reduced this number to only 300, we see that there was a great potential in Israel to take up the fight – as soon as a leader stepped forward!

The battle of Midian became one of the greatest victories in Old Testament history. And after the battle, as long as Gideon was alive, the nation thrived and experienced a period of peace.

“Thus Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted their heads no more. And the country was quiet for forty years in the days of Gideon.”

    Judges 8:28

That things went so well for Israel during the days of Gideon, makes it even sadder to read about what happened after his death. What could have become a permanent change in history, only lasted for one generation.

“So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-Berith their god. Thus the children of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.”

    Judges 8:33–34

This is unfortunately not a unique story in the Bible. There are many examples of how the nation stayed sound and obedient to God, as long as there were God-fearing leaders who ruled the land. But there are too many other stories about how Israel broke His covenant when these leaders were gone. After Joshua died, Israel left The Lord to worship the gods of Canaan. The same happened after the deaths of godly kings like Hezekiah and Josiah.

All these stories point to one spiritual principle: the great need for godly leaders. When there were leaders in Israel who went first and wholeheartedly sought God, the people usually followed them. And in the same way, there are people all around us who possess innumerable talents and qualities, people who want to serve God, but cannot seem to get started. There are many who want to change the world and do something meaningful with their lives – if only someone would rally them, train them, inspire them and show them what they can do for God.

And that is why I believe that the quest for leaders is still the greatest need in God’s kingdom.

The greatest need

The lessons of the Old Testament continue into the times of Jesus and the apostles. Jesus urged his followers to “…pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Matt 9:38) Paul commanded Titus to “…appoint elders in every city” (Tit 1:5) To Timothy he wrote: “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Tim 2:1)

God has always looked for faithful and committed leaders, and no matter where we live, we should make it our number one aim to train as many leaders as we can. It is hard to overemphasize the importance of ongoing leadership training in our churches. Wherever I travel both inside and outside Russia, I see the same thing: the fastest growing churches are those that are most devoted to leadership training.

Jesus spent most of His time with His twelve disciples, not preaching to the crowds. He understood that the best He could do with the time He had was to raise up devoted leaders who would continue the work He had started.

THE FASTEST GROWING CHURCHES ARE THOSE THAT ARE MOST DEVOTED TO LEADERSHIP TRAINING.

Responsibility

The key word for a leader is responsibility. This is the main difference between a leader and the people he cares for. The leader needs to feel a higher degree of responsibility than all others; that is why he is a leader. He stays in all kinds of weather, he knows he is accountable for what he does and he will do his very best to complete the tasks given to him.

Many people like to join a church, visit the Sunday meetings, but not take responsibility. Responsibility is a burden not everyone wants to bear. It is convenient for the flesh to come to church when it suits, go some other place when that seems better, and not take up any obligation that binds up the time. This is a little like the spirit of our time. People do not want to have too many attachments, but pick what is most comfortable for the moment.

But the church has no future without responsible leaders. Isaiah heard The Lord asking this question:

“Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?”

    Isaiah 6:8

In other words, who can be trusted? On whom can God lay a burden, knowing that the person will be ready to accept the responsibility?

THE CHURCH HAS NO FUTURE WITHOUT RESPONSIBLE LEADERS.

Quality training

Real leadership training takes time. To develop accountably is not done overnight, and it is not done over distance. Joshua spent most of his life in the presence of Moses before he was fully trained to lead the conquest of Canaan. Elisha served Elijah for a long time, Timothy followed Paul for years all around the Roman Empire.

If your heart burns for leadership training, you must devote your full strength and your best time for that. You must know who are the ones whom God calls you to train, and you must have a plan to follow. Halfhearted attitude and sloppy preparation will never produce strong leaders.

Paul used these words when he wrote to Timothy:

“I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you…”

    2 Timothy 1:3–4

When you can think of your co-workers with the same passion as Paul, you can become a great leader.

Continuous leadership training

It is my prayer, that God will open our eyes even more to see the great need for new generations of leaders. Some will be ministry gifts, some will be deacons and home group leaders, some will work in the church while others will be volunteers, but they will all have in common that they will share in the responsibility for the church and be willing to lead others.

Team building and leadership training go hand in hand. In our church in Moscow, we have a Bible School, many different leadership courses, and a seminary for the education of pastors. All this is necessary, but for leaders to grow, there must also be places where people can start to minister under the supervision of another leader.

WHEN A LEADER TAKES TIME TO TRAIN, ENCOURAGE, AND CORRECT HIS CO-WORKERS, THERE CAN BE A CONTINUOUS GROWTH OF NEW LEADERS.

In a well-functioning leadership team, individuals can serve and grow at the same time. When a leader takes time to train, encourage, and correct his co-workers, there can be a continuous growth of new leaders. This should be our aim! I believe that with a thoughtful and purposeful strategy for leadership training, this can happen in every church and in every branch inside the local congregation.

An example to follow

We should consider how Jesus started His earthly ministry. He found some simple men, often with very little confidence in what they could do, and called them to join Him. Why did He do so? Because he understood that preaching, healing and delivering people were not sufficient for His ministry. He needed to raise up leaders. Only if there were well-trained workers who could remain standing in all kinds of circumstances, would His mission be completed.

Think in the same way! Whatever leadership task you have in the church, you can also simultaneously train other leaders. When we who are pastors make this our main cause, I believe we are on the right track. The number and quality of the leaders you leave behind determine the result of your ministry.

THE NUMBER AND QUALITY OF THE LEADERS YOU LEAVE BEHIND DETERMINE THE RESULT OF YOUR MINISTRY.

During my first years of ministry in Norway, I got calls to preach in some very interesting places, but The Holy Spirit did not allow me to go. I was once invited to go to the USA on a very exciting trip, and for a newly graduated Bible School student, this was more than great news! I remember that when I got the invitation, I ran around the house in sheer excitement. But when I asked The Lord about it, He quietly told me to stay at home. He made me understand that I should stay in my hometown, and care for the youth group that I was responsible for.

I was puzzled at this, wondering why He would not send me out into the big world. But later it started to dawn on me why He was leading me in this way. Your greatest moments are not always when a lot of people see you and listen to you. If you want to be like Jesus, think about how He spent His time. By patiently ministering to a handful of men, he turned ordinary fishermen and tax collectors into mighty leaders in the church. And what can be greater than that!

The quest for leaders

Tasks to work with

1) What priority does leadership training have in the ministry you are involved in?