What are the Strengths and Weaknesses in the Team Approach in Church Planting?

Elmer Towns and Douglas Porter once wrote, “Churches planted by an effective ministry team tend to be stronger, and their future tends to be more secure” (Elmer Towns and Douglas Porter, Churches that Multiply: A Bible Study on Church Planting (Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2003), 146). My article addresses the importance of the use of teams in church planting.  Though the Lord has used many solo church planters to plant churches, clearly the biblical evidence reveals a team approach.   

The Biblical Example

It is not surprising that just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit eternally work in community as a healthy team that the saints throughout the ages would reflect such a paradigm when working toward Kingdom goals. Team is a divine characteristic and must be a component of any missionary work. 

The Bible is filled with examples of teams working together for the Kingdom. Noah worked with his sons. Moses and Aaron led the Israelites into the Promised Land. Nehemiah worked with many people. Jesus sent out the Twelve (Luke 9:1-6) and the Seventy-two (Luke 10:1-12) in teams of two. An examination of the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul reveals numerous examples of the use of church planting teams. Even after Barnabas and Paul separated over John Mark, they both went their separate ways working with teams (Acts 15: 36-31).  

Strengths and Limitations of a Team

Though the biblical evidence supports a team approach to church planting, wise missionaries must be aware of both the strengths and limitations of such teams. Knowing the limits of church planting teams helps missionaries keep expectations tempered by reality. The following are some of the strengths of a team:

Shared Leadership—A team approach allows for a sharing of the responsibilities.  

Accountability—Using a team makes accountability easier regarding walks with the Lord, relationships with their spouses and children, and faithfulness to the work.    

Encouragement—A team can provide encouragement, especially during the difficult seasons.    

Diversity—A team allows for the use of a diversity of gifts, talents, and perspectives in the work.  

Strength in Numbers—The use of a team can provide strength and protection when faced with physical and spiritual opposition.  

Serves as a Functional Body of Christ—The team can provide the church planters and their families with fellowship, edification and a body with which to worship in the days prior to the birth of local churches.  

Provides Pastoral Care—The team is able to minister to one another while they are working to plant churches. 

Serves as a Training Ground—The team can serve as a body for equipping and multiplying new church planters. 

Provides a Faster Evangelistic Growth Potential—Typically a team will reach more people for Christ than a single individual.

Wisdom Comes with Numbers—Since there is wise counsel in numbers, a team can provide insights that would not come from a single individual.  

Models Church Before the New Believers—A team can model before the new believers how Kingdom citizens are to relate to one another, God, and those outside the Kingdom.  

Limitations of Church Planting Teams

Though I am sure there are more limitations to team ministry, consider at least the following three limitations:

Length of Time to Make Decisions—It takes longer to for a team to make decisions than one individual. 

Conflict is Inevitable—Along with a team approach to church planting comes conflict.  

Potential to Become Inwardly Focused—A team can lose focus and begin to fellowship and worship together and forget about their calling to evangelism that results in new churches.  

Begin By Looking for the Barnabas Factors

In my book The Barnabas Factors: Eight Essential Practices of Church Planting Team Members (Missional Press), I examine Barnabas’ life and ministry as a model for character and personal qualities that should be present in all church planters. When developing a team consider looking for people who have a history of manifesting the following eight characteristic as seen in the life of Barnabas:

• Walks with the Lord
• Maintains an Outstanding Character
• Serves in the Local Church 
• Remains Faithful to the Call 
• Shares the Gospel Regularly 
• Raises Up Leaders 
• Encourages with Speech and Actions 
• Responds Appropriately to Conflict      

Develop A Covenant of Team Understandings

The best resource that I have found to date regarding the development of church planting teams is Dick Scoggins’ unpublished book Developing Effective Church Planting Teams.  Scoggins has made this highly practical book available at his web site (www.dickscoggins.com). Check out the section regarding developing a team covenant. Such a resource is greatly beneficial to a team and should be developed prior to their arrival on the field.  It will help to avoid many problems that could potentially develop as the work progresses. 

Submitted by J.D. Payne