One of the greatest blessings God has given me is the privilege to serve Him together with a great team of leaders in Word of Life Moscow. The men and women of this team have become my best friends. Together we have experienced both victories and setbacks, but most of all we have seen God’s protecting and guiding hand over the work we are a part of.
I believe that in some way, every leader should continuously build a team of other leaders with whom he serves God. Whatever we are called to do, we are called to do it together with other people. No one serves God alone. His church is a body consisting of different members, and teamwork is built into the very essence of the church. When leaders develop teams that minister together, they build strength and stability into the church, and they give opportunity for growth and training.
A church can be organized in many ways, with different interpretations of leadership positions. But whether you belong to an Episcopal, Presbyterian, or Congregational organization, I believe this book can be equally helpful. Teams can function everywhere, we just need to adapt to the order of the church we are a part of.
Leaders who are skilled in team building will accomplish so much more than those who work alone. Wisdom will increase and gifts and talents will thrive when people of different personalities serve God in unity.
Though many see and understand this, there is often a lack of clear understanding about how this should be done. I believe many pastors and leaders work too spontaneously, and could be much more effective with a clearer plan of how to create, develop and work in a team.
It is my prayer that this book will help you to understand the dynamics of a great team and inspire you to focus more on team development – whether or not you are in a leadership position right now. Very often we are in fact both; we serve under some authority together with others, and at the same time we are also leaders in a ministry, branch or cell group in the church.
The principles I share in this book are the result of what The Holy Spirit has shown me during almost 30 years of pastoring. As the years have passed, I have realized more and more, the importance of creating the best possible relationships with my closest co-workers, and continuously investing time into leadership training. Almost all of the examples I will mention come out of the work in Word of Life Moscow.
This book is therefore dedicated to this team, the best men and women I know, who have so faithfully, generously and sacrificially served God with me for many years, to Randi, Oleg and Julia, Sergei and Valja, Alexander and Zhanna, Ilya and Zhenja, Nikolay and Lena, Alexei and Katja, Pjotr and Tanja, Volodja and Olga, Alexei and Ira, Andrei and Larissa – and many, many others.
At the very end of His time on the Earth, Jesus spoke to The Father about the twelve disciples:
“While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost…”
John 17:12
Jesus watched over His closest men, every one was precious to Him, and He rejoiced to see them continue doing God’s work.
That joy should also be yours. In this book, I want to remind you that besides being a fisher of man, a giver, and a worshiper – you can also be a team builder!
The book can function as study material for team building. You can read chapter by chapter together with your co-workers, and at the end of every chapter there will be questions and exercises that you can work with together.
May God bless you in all that you do for Him,
Matts-Ola Ishoel
Word of Life Moscow
