Building Unconventional Teams

Putting together small teams that will be effective in specialized mission assignments requires prayer and also sometimes unconventional methods.

I am thinking about the types of situations where we send out small teams of 2-3 people to do evangelism, gather groups to give gospel presentations, scout out an area, or build key community relationships.  We usually keep these groups small for a variety of reasons such as being able to complete more objectives with a larger number of smaller teams, or so that the teams can be nimble in their movements and ministry decisions.  

This type of mission operation might last anywhere from three days up to three weeks.  We typically consider building these teams by joining those who want to work together, or those who are similar in personality or seem to have some common connections.  Sometimes this works very well.  But sometimes there is more to be gained when we take the opposite approach.  

Uncommon Teams 

What if we built the teams using people’s differences instead?  Here are seven differences I consider in team selection.

1. Age range and gender mix.  This can have a clear advantage in engaging a broader range of people.  Clustering the age range of the team or having all male or female really limits opportunities.  The team can end up wasting a lot of time looking for people that look like them.

2. Relationship initiator.  Every team needs one of these people to turn opportunities into quality conversations with ease.  Otherwise the team’s report at the end of the day tends to be filled with wishful thinking about what might have been.  And that is just sad for everyone.

3. Culture mix.  Assuming that the mission work is cross-cultural and among some unreached segment of the world’s population, having mixed-culture teams can be advantageous.  There is broader appeal most of the time, and even the novelty can work for them.

4. Experienced and inexperienced.  Experienced people by themselves can end up doing the mission they way they always have done it.  Inexperienced people by themselves can end up making unnecessary mistakes for too long.  But, together they can be a great combination!

5. Differing backgrounds and personalities.  Mismatched personalities can be a good thing.  Sometimes they turn out to be more complementary than initially expected.  People with widely differing backgrounds will take advantage of widely differing situations.  And then once engaged, the differing approaches can open up new territory. 

6. Christian maturity levels.  New Christians need to be on the mission field early on in their walk with Christ.  They will learn from the more mature Christian, while the mature Christian will re-learn the lessons he or she will be teaching and modeling.  This dynamic is enjoyable and it puts even more joy into the mission for all to see!

7. Theological differences.  Put together Calvinist with Arminian, Charismatic with non-Charismatic, Dispensationalist with non-Dispensationalist, Fundamentalist with Evangelical, and even church traditionalist with a radical.  They find out the value of focusing more on the Gospel itself and less on promoting their particular viewpoints.

Uncommon Results

Such differences on teams can bring discomfort and sometimes a painful amount.  Yet I have found that this frequently works to the teams’ benefit and their results.  It might seem that they will be consumed by working on their differences, but these teams quickly discover that they have to be driven by their objectives and focus their energy.  Working together all day every day these teams actually get more done.

Each team member gets to see and experience, and hopefully learn and appreciate, the glorious diversity in the Body of Christ.  Everyone has to seek to understand their brother or sister in Christ and seek to be understood.  Different people observe differently and provide complementary perspectives in doing the Mission.  This approach assists in the discipleship of disciples as they go out together to make more disciples. 

Get to know the people with whom you will be working.  Ask the Lord who will work well together.  Prepare yourself to see new, even unusual, team possibilities.  Try them and give them a few days to work through their struggles before making any switches.  Watch and be amazed at what the Lord will do with these unconventional teams!