Externally Focused Ministry

Building a Community Service Team
Krista Petty

I thought I picked up the turkey sandwich. In a hurry, I grabbed the chicken salad with celery instead. (I've never been a fan of celery.) Since I was already in the car and trying to multi-task lunch and the drive home, I was determined to eat it anyway. What's my lunch got to do with community service? Building a brand-new community involvement leadership team can be a lot like building a chicken salad sandwich.

When it comes to making chicken salad, there are a lot of different ingredients and you have to bring them together to make something better. The same is true for the members of your team. I recently chose people to join me in the journey of leading community service at LifeBridge Christian Church's multi-site ministry in Johnstown, Colorado. Who did I invite to be a part of the leadership team? People that are connected to God and members of the church, of course. But what were the other criteria? While this isn't an all-inclusive list of qualities or people on the team, here was my starting place:

People who understand needs firsthand.
One woman expressed interest on her church comment card, so I asked her to work alongside me with a special project. I found out that she loves feeding people and, having been a single mom at one time, understands the difficulties of making ends meet. Having real-life experience is a great quality for team members to lead in the community.

People who are creative and communicate well.
Another person was a very willing helper during the holiday season with special projects and kept asking for more. She was consistent in her service, a good communicator, and very creative. Honestly, she just had leader written all over her, and I wanted to snag her for this team!

People who are already connected in the community.
Our team consists of a police officer, a school PTO president, and a local business owner who works with a lot of teenagers every day. They are members of the church and very connected with daily life in our small town.

Just as important as who is on the team is how they were invited to be in leadership. Now I have a confession to make. I am a former do-it-myself church staff member. Before I came into leadership in community involvement, I was a full-time, high-capacity, detail-oriented communication director. I cranked out work with a staff of two and just a handful of trusted (and patient) volunteers. I admit it: I was not an equipper. I was a doer. My typical volunteer recruitment followed this sad pattern:

• Put a call out for proofreaders in the church newsletter.
• Wait for the phone to ring. Get aggravated that no one called.
• Run the ad again (and sometimes again) and talk to the one person who called.
• Tell volunteer the details. Make it sound easy. Send the file.
• Never hear from volunteer again after the first project is completed.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened. I wasn't an ogre…just productive, and being productive is efficient. Plus, I found every excuse imaginable not to use volunteers, but lean on staff people and other professionals in the name of quality control. Isn't producing desired results with a minimum expenditure of energy, time, and money valuable to God? Robert Lupton, urban missionary and author, writes about efficiency in his book For Theirs Is the Kingdom:

"Is my job well done when my schedule book clicks with precision and the minutia of details are carefully covered? This would satisfy my need for order and control, but what about the kingdom of God? The fundamental building blocks of the kingdom are relationships. Not programs, systems, or productivity. The kingdom is built on personal involvement that disrupts schedules and drains energy... If efficiency is a value in God's kingdom, surely it has a different definition. The one who orchestrates history does not seem to be in a hurry. God doesn't seem to need closure at the end of each day."

It was difficult to finally admit to myself and others that efficiency is not a fruit of the Spirit. As a recovering doer, I definitely wanted to take a new approach with these potential new leaders for LifeBridge community involvement. I met with each member of the team or with two at a time. I invited them to consider leadership, provided a ministry description, and didn't make it look easy. To be honest, I thought I might scare them away by telling them it was a yearlong commitment. Finally, I was very honest. I told them this would be hard, but one of the most rewarding experiences I hope they ever have serving God. What kind of return did that investment of time yield? One hundred percent of the people I asked said yes. (And while I knew each one of them, it really wasn't me just going out and begging my friends to come along. I promise.)

Another thing I did was listen—yet one more skill I don't naturally have. I asked each person about his or her family life, career, and other involvement in church. God showed up in amazing ways at each of the meetings. Some people shared with me personal stuff, hard stuff-real stuff. Their answers further confirmed that God had led me to the right people. Each was passionate about serving in the community because God had used life experience to already prepare him or her. I think Paul had something to say about that, too. "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago" (Ephesians 2:10). As a leader, this realization has actually caused me to breathe a sigh of relief about what we will do in the community. I have full confidence that between the community's needs and these personal passions, there will be some obvious starting points.

Now, back to my sandwich. Remember how I said I didn't like chicken salad and especially not celery? Well, the croissant that wrapped the chicken salad was so good that I didn't even notice the small bits of stringy, annoying weeds inside. I am not naïve in thinking all of these different people on our team are always going to get along and be of one mind and voice. In fact, there may be times that celery shows up. This is why the bread is important.

Every sandwich has to have bread. If not, it's called a salad, right? As the leader, it is my job to make sure that the people we serve and the things we do are wrapped in the goodness of God. The foundational piece is God's Word and our team's connection to Him. So, we are building the structure of our team by studying God's heart for the poor, needy, orphans, widows, and children. Did you know there are over 2,000 verses that deal with poverty? That's going to keep us busy for a while!

The other slice represents the people we serve. I believe their stories of transformation and renewal will wrap our team in a reminder of God's faithfulness. Community service is not always what you expect it to be, but what wraps it and holds it together makes it good. I ate and enjoyed the sandwich—down to the very last bite.

Krista Petty is a coach for Externally Focused Churches and a volunteer on the LifeBridge Christian Church community involvement team, leading the church's efforts at the Johnstown, Colorado, multi-site. You can e-mail responses to this article to the author at krista_petty@msn.com.

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