This good question was raised in North Africa this past week. I guess I’m not the only one needing good help. My friend in North Africa listed these sample ideas:
- When considering whether someone would make a great teammate carefully examine his/her fruitfulness in the past. If someone has great character and fruitfulness in another context they’ll probably make great contributions.
- Believe God is going to do great things. When you believe it people will want to be a part of it.
- Pray, pray, pray.
- Stay in touch over time w/ people you want to work w/. Eventually lots of them will come to points in their lives where they will seriously consider it.
- If you want to have American teammates go to the same conventions & gatherings each year and follow-up, face-to-face, w/ key people.
- Write great newsletters that make people want to be a part of what you’re a part of.
- Ask people. When I used to be in the home office I was astonished how clueless missionaries were about how powerful their words could be in the lives of young people. It’s amazing how few missionaries ask people who visit to prayerfully consider a call.
- Find ways to position yourself as an authority/value giver. If you have learned anything that you could pass on to others, find a context in which you can share it.
Got other advice? Admonitions? Stuff that’s worked for you? Reality checks? If so, Please list them below. Just click “Comments” and fill in the box — anonymously, if you prefer.
Thanks for helping us figure this out.
Doug
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These sound great. Just remember that the bigger the team the more challenging it will be for the team leader to ‘do ministry’ rather than facilitating ministry for others. Also, don’t forget about the fact that the objective is producing fruit, not growing a big team. And remember that nationals will end up being a lot like teammates later on… and they won’t leave unexpectedly! Actually they might be one of the best places to invest this energy.
Decide exactly what you think your (husband’s?) call is as a team leader. Did God call him to just be a nice guy that lets everyone come over and do as he/she feels like God is telling him/her individually? If not then let people know up front he intends to do certain things (require some things of teammates) so they’ll be able to plan accordingly. At the same time he needs to communicate trust to trustworthy people, though.
Make a bucket. Every time someone asks you a question related to recruiting paste it into a Word doc or a folder that can ultimately become a booklet you give to candidates. Put as much stuff as is possible in writing regarding your vision for the team. Put some key protocol in writing, too. Let this be a filter for people who might want to be teammates. (In the end it will not only filter it will also give vision.)
I’m skeptical that it’s a good strategy to try to build a team via short-term teams and interns.
Oh — and beware of the current passion for ‘community.’ Everyone wants it but they don’t understand the implications. Kind of like marriage… sounds great but in the end the treasure has a cost that many aren’t really wanting to pay.