Daily Devotion: 16 Days til Guatemala

Daily Devotion from Terry at Across All Borders:
May 17 - Team Unity

Philippians 2: 2-5 "...make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."

Ephesians 4:16 "From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."

I am a college football fan. No, I am an LSU Tigers fan. We are die hards here in south Louisiana. No team is better than our Tigers. It was a shock a few years ago when the not even ranked Ole Miss Rebels came into our territory and beat us, causing us to fall in the rankings. How could a less skilled team beat such a highly skilled one? Usually that which puts the less skilled team over the top is their team spirit. The successful coach builds the group together in such a way that they are able to more as a unit than another group of more skilled athletes if they play as a bunch of ego-driven individuals.

The same is true for your mission team. Don't underestimate the value of pre-trip training and meetings. Take every opportunity to be together as a group before the short term mission starts. Share your heart, your emotions, your prayer requests, your financial needs, your spiritual battles. Pray for one another, get to know one another, build each other up and practice being together.

You need them and they need you. The Bible says in Ephesians 4 that the Body of Christ is joined and knit together by that which every person supplies. Eternity is at stake for someone you will minister to and the team will be less effective and less fruitful if any one person fails to fulfill their role on the mission.

Going from the familiarity of normal life to the less familiar experience of a mission trip is an opportunity for each person to trust God in a deeper way. This is especially true if each team member has come to know and trust the love of each person on the team. Knowing the love, acceptance and support of the group frees individuals to move in their personal gifting without fear of being judged by another. Yet such trust and love takes time to develop. Building unity during team preparation is also important because the enemy of our souls will often attack team unity on the mission.

Its seems like a squeeze in our already busy schedules to add team meetings to the calendar as if it is a necessary evil of the mission experience. For your group, there may or may not be more than two meetings. Regardless of how many is required, reject having a negative attitude and recognize that ministry has already begun and part of that ministry is building together as a unit.

God, thank you for that which each team member brings to this group. I purpose to walk in love with each person on this team. Father, build us together, unite us in purpose, and draw out of us the unique quality and gifting you put in us for the benefit of the group.


With Gratitude,
Sondra