Whenever you name something, specific meanings are invoked by the word you use.

The Church of my childhood was led by a board with a chairman. He assigned people to committees for the work that needed to be done. The words evoke a picture of people sitting at big tables whose primary responsibility is to make decisions. There are presentations, discussions, and probably a vote.

I was dying under the weight of all the committees and meetings when I became a pastor. I was standing in my alma mater’s bookstore when a man overheard the conversation and said, “Perhaps ministry teams could save your Church.”

The word “ministry” conjures up the image of people serving the Lord. The group is doing something for other people in the name of Jesus. It is an active word with spiritual overtones.

The word “team” is exceedingly familiar to most people. It is a group of people working together for victory. They put aside their differences for a singular goal of success in their activity.

When used together, those two words capture what the Church is about. We are about serving the Lord Jesus together to make and grow disciples.

Decisions must be made, but those are not the end goal. The hope is that people will work for the kingdom of God and do it together. I think the man in the bookstore was correct, “Perhaps ministry teams could save the Church” from the onslaught of committees.