Five Phases in Developing a (Lay) Pastoral Team

A pastoral team is the pastor’s leadership team that incarnates the church’s vision in its relationships and ministry, assisting the pastor in the healthy coordination of the church.  In most churches it is made up of lay people.

This team of about three to six people is the “DNA” of the church, the foundational cell on which all the others are based.  It demonstrates the vision, values and life of the church, serving as an example of what the church intends to be.  It showcases the future of the church both as a pastoral nurturing group and as a ministry team.  The member’s leadership is based on functions and not merely on positions.  Each leader has a clear role such as, for example, coordinator of a specific area in the life of the church.

The heart of a healthy church is a healthy and growing pastor.  The “extended heart,” around the pastor, is the pastoral team, the second key to a healthy church.  This team doesn’t simply appear from night to day; the development is similar to that of people wanting to discover a marriage partner.  In this light, we highlight five phases.  They often may translate into a year per phase.

These five phases, with a few modifications, can be applied to the development of any ministry team in the church or in a parachurch organization, substituting “potential team leader” for “pastor.”

1. Friendship: An Open Leadership Group Walking with the Pastor

In this first informal phase, the pastor invites leaders to walk with him, maintaining an open group with people free to enter or leave, letting them self-select as regards their potential for the second phase.  He can especially invite some people who reflect the qualities of the pastoral team he hopes to raise.  These qualities, evident in the definition and description of the pastoral team, can include:  to have and live out a shared and clear vision for the church, cultivate relationships characterized by this vision, be a minister, assist the pastor and help in the leadership and coordination of church life.  Two options for having this kind of group include a special weekly leadership course or a monthly breakfast, possibly at the pastor’s home, and spending the rest of the morning talking and praying together as the pastor shares his concerns, burdens, decisions and vision.

Beginning in this phase and continuing throughout the others, the pastor would do well to work with the five selection processes that Jesus used for the Twelve:

Activities in this year of friendship can include:

1. Studying a book on leadership or church vision together. 
2. A book, articles or studies on friendship.  One good option is Stu Weber’s Locking Arms: Strength in Character through Friendship (his focus on masculine friends can be generalized to include both sexes).
3. Small group exercises like each person writing down three qualities they like in each other person and then sharing them (good for a group from 4-7 people).
4. Traveling together, going on vacation or retreats or outings together, going to congresses together.
5. Getting together for fun.
6. Getting some foundational training seminars together such as ones that deal with the vision of a healthy church, possibly from Willowcreek or Saddleback.  Other good seminar topics can include team-building and small group development.
7. Share your stories.
8. Eat together! 

The transition to courtship begins when we make a serious choice to invest time in those we want to “go with”.  We sense deeply that we don’t just want ministry colleagues, but rather people who will share their lives with us with the possibility that this could continue over the long term.  We want to find people for whom this team will be or could become their principal ministry.  Some characteristics of the team at this stage include:

1. Participation is by invitation, the group becoming a closed group to be able to deepen relationships, moving in the direction of becoming “family”.
2. Still some shifts in the membership of the group.
3. Spending more time together.
4. The people begin to prioritize this team and supporting the pastor above their other ministry commitments.
5. Dreaming together about the vision and future of the church.
6. The pastor makes adjustments in his leadership style and way of relating which open the way for the rest of the team-in-formation.
7. Having serious conflicts and resolving them well. 

The transition to “engagement” happens when the pastor and the members of the group want a higher commitment, something more dependable, more lasting.  Typically conflicts arise.  Those who work them through are good candidates for engagement.  The pastor begins to invest not only time, but money and resources in equipping and walking with his team.  They begin to think in terms of the agreements, standards or covenant that they’d like to have, aware that this may serve as a model for the rest of the church family.  It’s also common in this phase that the team defines or redefines its foundational teaching for someone to be a member of the church.  The team invests intentionally in its own development, growing in eight qualities of a high-performance team.  To see a diagnostic questionnaire on this topic, click here.

1. Divine Direction and Anointing: Doing what the Father does (John 5:19-20a).
2. Common purpose: Clear and measurable vision, strategy, values and objectives. 
3. Clear Roles: Each person coordinating an area of the church according to their calling.
4. Strong Facilitating Leadership: Able to switch styles according to the maturity and competence of their followers (directing, equipping, coaching, delegating).
5. Efficient Administration: Makes decisions in a simple, efficient and effective way.
6. Formational Training: Cultivating character, maturity and competence in all areas. 
7. Solid Relationships: Loving and accepting environment; emotional health; good conflict resolution.
8. Excellent Communication: Both in terms of ideas and of feelings; hearing well; giving feedback.

At this point the church publicly recognizes the team as their official leadership.  The members of the team joyfully commit themselves to walking according to the covenant and vision that God has given them.  They delight in spending time together, as friends and ministers.  For many, if not all, this team is their first ministerial priority.  New members are brought in carefully and slowly, perhaps attending an annual team retreat after which the team decides whether to invite them to be a “companion” for a year.  If they do well, they would be invited to be a full team member.  Summarizing, the team members love God and each other deeply, as well as the vision that God gave them.  Other characteristics of a team in this stage include:

1. Valuing diversity, affirming the leadership of each one in his/her area of specialty
2. Interdependence, no longer dependent nor independent
3. The pastor regularly meets individually with each team member
4. Each year the team prioritizes one or two areas in which to grow (such as those in the list of eight characteristics of a high performance team)
5. Pastoral and ministerial mentoring (commonly in trios)
6. Each member is a coordinator who has his own ministry team
7. High level of responsibility
8. Culture of evaluation and self-evaluation
9. Focus on results

5. Reproduction: A Pastoral Team of Specialists

The members of the pastoral team go beyond their local church in training others in their areas of expertise.  This is an expression of their calling, laying solid foundations and serving as consultants to other churches and ministries.  Two characteristics of the team include:

A. Introductory Level: reading good books, preferably as a team.

B. Intermediate Level: participation in various training seminars with your potential team.*

Reflection Questions
(to be discussed with the church’s leadership)

Return to the initial page about pastoral teams or continue this reflection with more details on five seminars that help in forming a pastoral team. 

* In Brazil we have developed 14 hour workshops that follow the level one training seminar above with:
2) Basic Training in Ministry Team Formation (for those who have already done the Ministry Network Seminar, but want to know how to begin or raise up ministry teams).
3)Advanced Training for Ministry Teams: Eight Characteristics of a High Performance Team (for teams that have been together and functioning for at least six months).
4) Raising Up a Lay Pastoral Team: (following the aforementioned training seminars, to help the pastoral team-in-potential establish itself through the process of friendship, courtship, engagement and marriage).