Too often, church plants consider the set up and tear down of their plant as the Achilles heel to their ministry. They tend to think “if I had a building, I could do this” or “If we didn’t have to set up and tear down each week, Sunday’s could be better.”
I’m hear to tell you that those are just lies you’re telling yourself.
Sure, having your own building has it’s advantages; but too often, I see church leaders putting blame on the time constraint and physical nature of a church plant that doesn’t have it’s own building. I’ve been in both mega churches where you don’t have to lift a single finger, and also part of churches where you walk into an empty space and have to create a environment of worship out of nothing. While the latter can be more difficult, we shouldn’t put limitations on what is possible because of our physical worship situation.
In one particular instance, I think of San Francisco, which is known to be one of the most unreached cities in America, with only 3% of it’s 837,000 dwellers attending a church. And off the top of my head, I can think of one particular church who is seeing an average of over 250 people each weekend over two services in just over two years.
Want to know the crazy part? That church doesn’t have a building, a parking lot, or fancy coffee machines. They have a theater, a set up and tear down team, and people committed to the cause of Jesus.
As a ministry leader, it is your job to not only develop a culture worship within your church, but also develop that culture that Jesus has given you for your church despite the obstacles that lay in your way. In this regard, set and up tear down ministries can take on these tangible tips to make sure they’re doing all they can to create a healthy set up and tear down culture:
Do Work
Don’t base limitations on what you can do because you also have to set up chairs. This goes back to the vision of your church. Catch people onto the vision Jesus has laid out. People will attach to something that they believe in. I can’t say this enough: Jesus-centered vision is everything.
Rotation
Okay…we all love Jesus. I get that. And it’s quite possible that those of you who answer the call for those 5-6am set up time on Sunday…you may just love Jesus more than the rest of us. Team leaders: here’s the thing: don’t overuse those people who are showing up early to help you set and/or those who stay an hour after to help tear down. If you’re in a set-up / tear-down place in your ministry, then most likely you don’t have the capacity for rotation…yet. Always refer back to #1 and cast vision. Your team will stay with you for the long haul is they attach to your vision for your ministry.
In the tree, part of the tree
Be a part of the team. Pastor and ministry leader – you are not above doing it yourself. I understand that there’s a lot on your shoulders for Sundays, and if you have a team where you don’t have to be part of the team, then I congratulate you for being able to raise such a successful team. However, those of you who are just starting out and are making your team work harder because you feel like you’re above that, then I would highly suggest you look into a different career than ministry.
These are three simple steps you can take to make sure you have a healthy setup and tear down culture within your church. How do you create a healthy set up / tear down culture in your church? Let us know below.
Why Won't They Schedule Me on the Worship Team?