The 5 C's of a Team

​Jonathan Osorio, Young Adult and Family Ministry Pastor at the Yucaipa SDA Church. Married to my beautiful wife Vanessa and gifted with 2 beautiful boys Joziah, 4 y/o and Izaiah, 2 y/o & expecting a 3rd boy. Love going to the park with my family. I enjoy connecting with new people , tasting new foods and traveling to new places. A lover of chocolate. Die hard Laker Fan. My why is To be an Inspiration to the Next Generation.
Teams, from sports teams to work teams to church teams to even Jesus when he came down to this earth, He chose a team. Teams are a part of our lives and as Pastors teams are vital to the overall mission of the church in building God’s Kingdom. Yet, at times you might feel like me, that nothing is running smoothly so we tend to want to just do it ourselves. I want to share with you something that can help you assess the team you have and begin to build Team Chemistry.

Throughout the past years in Pastoral ministry, there is something that has helped me and given me a better understanding of building teams and being able for the team to move forward towards a common goal. I hope this helps you look at the teams God has entrusted you to lead and may we lean first to God and his Holy Spirit as he guides and directs us with the teams he has entrusted us over.

Here are the 5 C’s of a Team.

1. Clarity

Where there is no VISION people perish - Proverbs 29:18

Clarity gives a team purpose. Knowing where we are going is so important to the overall function of a team. As a Pastor, I believe it is important for you to give clarity and help the team to know the direction where together you are sensing God's leading. One major reason I believe leaders become discouraged in teams is, just like the verse says, without a clear direction, people become discouraged and they start to run in circles rather than look and move forward in faith.

An exercise that has been helped me bring clarity is: Using post-it notes. Give one post-it note to every leader and start by asking this question: Where do we sense God moving in our church, youth group, ministry, and/or community? Then proceed to ask other questions such as: What excites you about your church, youth group, ministry, and/or community? These conversations will then lead the teams to gain better clarity and help you create a VISION (Our Why), MISSION (What?), and CORE VALUES.

One more key component to this activity is to make it FUN! Take a day to go out with your team and or go on a retreat. Not only will this help to bring more clarity but it will help fuel your team and bring vitality and bring closeness to your team.

2. Commitment

COMMIT your work to the Lord and your plans will succeed - Proverbs 16:3

Commitment says we are “ALL IN”. We will all be dedicated to the overall vision, mission, and team. Committing to the team and the plans gives the team a strong focus on succeeding and highlighting the steps necessary to succeed. When team leaders understand their work in the context of the team's plan, they become more committed to the team’s success and less troubled by any short-term difficulties. Commitment is crucial to the health of the team.

3. Communication

So that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. - 1 Corinthians 12-25-26

Communication is key in a team. It unlocks the potential of a team. Effective communication will be a great launching to the overall success of your team. Understand how and where to communicate. Use platforms and systems that will aid every leader to know their responsibilities and be able to communicate effectively. There are great applications that you can use to communicate with your teams such as Slack or Microsoft Teams. Just like the body is formed of many parts, so it is with your Team Leaders. Allow communication to be the joint that connects all the parts of the team.


4. Consistency

So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. - 1 Corinthians 15:58

Consistency says: “Keep going”. Consistency is the oil that will keep the team running. Consistency is what gives the team life. It is the oxygen that keeps the team going and moving forward. Whether it is by meeting together, planning together, and/or assessing the ministry(ies). Consistency is what will drive the team to achieve success. I love this quote by Michael Hyatt: “Consistency is more important than perfection.” The fact that we continue to meet, continue to evaluate, and continue to work together, gives the whole team momentum.

5. Community

And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. -Acts 2:44

God did not intend for us to live in isolation, God intended for us to live together. God created us all for community. Community allows us to foster love, to be encouraging, and to make a Kingdom difference. As a team, we are called to go out to our communities. To create moments where community happens.

A gathering that has created by our Family Ministry Team to create community within our Church this past year was: Picnic at the Park. This gathering not only brought us closer as a team, but it brought our church community closer as well. Life was not meant to be lived alone but rather to be lived together. I encourage you to create experiences where you and your team can commune.

Thank you for taking the time to check out this blog post and I hope this can inspire you as you start this New Year 2022 with your Team.

I like what Mother Teresa says: “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.”

Let us do great things together with our Teams for God’s Kingdom

Would love to hear from you. What is a C that you would include on this list?

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