EQUIPPING MINISTRY LEADERS

The Value of a Covenant
Don Simmons

Marcus was frustrated with his ministry team, and it wasn't the first time. He was frustrated with what seemed to be a lack of commitment among his fellow ministry team members. Not everyone attended; few members showed up on time, and those who did attend would always leave the meetings early. The team leader was not always prepared, and the meetings seemed to wander from one rabbit trail to the next. Marcus wondered if he should speak to the leader about his frustrations, or just quietly leave the team, as he was sure that no one would even notice.

As a friend, Marcus asked me, "What do you think is missing in our team? Is it a lack of leadership? Is our ministry even necessary?" While there may be several elements missing in his ministry team, one thing obviously missing is a covenant, and the adherence to a covenant relationship. When I asked about his team covenant, he looked baffled. In his church culture, he says, relationships are paramount, and teams function on a high relational value. He said they never felt it was necessary to enter into covenants.

My response was that in high-relational churches, covenants become even more important, because a team covenant is not about what a team does or why a team exists. A team covenant is how a team will function together. A covenant provides relational boundaries and guidelines, and a team covenant ensures and supports caring relationships. Some believe that developing a covenant is a waste of time, and it may become just that if the covenant is not authentic and practical for the ministry team. If the covenant is developed and written by the team, for the team, and used intentionally, then the covenant can be the guide star for the team's work.

Here are some ways to ensure that a covenant does not work for your ministry team:

• The team leader writes the covenant and distributes it to the team. This will ensure that no one owns the covenant except the author.
• The covenant goes into great detail about everything that the team will do and does not highlight the essentials, such as purpose, attendance, and attitude.
• The covenant is full of flowery religious language that no one actually uses in daily life. The violation of the covenant creates holy criminals through its use of biblical language.
• The covenant is written at the first meeting, placed in a notebook, and forgotten.
• The covenant is borrowed from another ministry team or recycled from the last team in that ministry area.
• The covenant is the work of only a portion of the team.

To develop a covenant that actually supports the work of a ministry team, follow these guidelines for development:

• Write the covenant as a team. Use time in the first two team meetings to develop the covenant based on the parameters that the team needs to function. [Ed. If you still feel you need a starting point to work from, members can download two sample team covenants in the ministry forms section of our Web site.]
• Keep the covenant focused on behaviors that are authentic and practical. Be sure to covenant areas such as attendance, punctuality, fun, contributions, conversations, confidentiality, and documentation.
• Review the covenant at each team meeting. Allow for revision if a covenant area is being ignored or bypassed regularly.
• Discuss behaviors as a violation of the covenant, not as sin or personal disappointment.
• Review and re-covenant each time a new member joins the team to ensure that ownership is understood and valued by the entire team.
• Write the covenant in everyday authentic language. Even the Bible was written in the language of the ordinary person, and our covenants should also be easily understandable and accessible.

One of the best ministry team covenants that I have ever used was simple and short:

• I promise to show up on time.
• I'll call the leader and let him or her know within 12 hours if I'm not coming or if I'll be late.
• I'll be a good listener and a respectful contributor to the conversations. I'll hold confidences when requested.
• I'll help to be sure that our ministry together is fun, and I'll do my part to make it meaningful fun!

A team covenant can make the difference between a cordial work group and a highly functioning team if the process of developing the covenant is authentic and realistic. The time invested in covenant creation will greatly benefit the team in fluidity and performance. See what a difference it will make in your ministry teams.

Don Simmons is senior consultant with Creative Potential Consulting, a church and nonprofit consulting firm. He was formerly director of Leadership Equipping and Development (LEAD) in Fresno. Prior to directing LEAD, Don served as associate professor of Christian education at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Northern California.

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