Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

by Kim Boley

"Teamwork makes the dream work!” ¹ My oldest daughter and I share this quote with each other anytime we’re working on something together. Cleaning up the house, picking out clothes for tomorrow, whatever. One of us will shout, “Teamwork!” and the other finishes by replying, “Makes the dream work!” and we usually high five. This not only gets us in a fun mood, but also helps her to see it’s good to include others in a goal. We can’t do life alone.  This thought hit me the other day during our Tuesday night worship service (we’re college missionaries). As I watched my husband, James, preach that week, I was reminded how most of our students don’t know how hard each of our staff members and leadership team work to make that night possible. ​

by ALotOfPeople, from Getty Images Pro

James, or whoever preaches that week, might be in the spotlight and receive a lot of credit—or blame—for however our worship service turned out. 

However, there are many moving parts to create an environment that is smooth and welcoming to all who attend. It’s something we work at very hard, and each person has a role to play in creating this. 

We do take time to highlight our staff and leadership team at our final banquet and affirm them often. However, most students aren’t going to know how hard Kyle worked on the promo video for that week. Most people aren’t going to know how long Jacqueline was there before the service to prepare the welcome table, the banners, signup sheets, and everything else, as if it’s always been ready to go. Most students won’t even think about how long the worship team practiced their set list that week. Or how stressed our sound guy is to make sure that everything tech runs well...and that he also remembers to hit record for the sermons. 

And that’s okay.

They don’t need to know.

We are here to serve them.

Yes, it’s nice to be acknowledged. Yes, it’s nice that people notice that something requires work. Yes, it feels good to simply be recognized.

However, that’s not the dream.

The dream is for more to come to know Christ.

That takes teamwork.

This applies not just to a weekly worship service but to any job or service we might have.  I don’t get to lead a weekly small group Bible study anymore. Rarely am I the one that gets to baptize a new believer. More often, I’m discipling the leaders that go out and make disciples and get to baptize new believers.

That’s okay.

Teamwork makes the dream work.

My role has changed many times in over fifteen years of ministry. Each shift, I’ve had to come to God and ask Him to re-define my new role to make His dream work. I’ll be honest, some adjustments were/are harder than others.

But I keep coming back to Him...constantly. I must check myself when I feel like I’m not getting recognized the way I deserve. I must remember what the dream is and how I can best be a team player who helps achieve it.

I remember how Jesus had an awesome team of disciples. They needed each other to make the dream work. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, things had to change, and they spread out. They each took on new roles once they received the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

But the dream was always the same.

And while some of us can easily name the twelve disciples and a few other early influential believers, a lot of people can’t. Discipleship is not about being in the spotlight. It’s about teamwork that makes HIS dream work.

So where are you? Do you find yourself in the spotlight a lot? Use that to bring public acknowledgment to those that make that spotlight happen. Recognize your team in front of those that don’t even think about it. Honor them.

Do you find yourself in the shadows? Do you feel like no one sees you? Ask God to validate you. Ask Him how you can best serve those around you to make His dream work. Maybe even ask the one(s) in the spotlight how you can better serve.

Remember the focus…the dream. The dream is for more people to come to know Christ.  Teamwork is God’s design to fulfill that dream.

Teamwork makes the dream work.

From picking up dirty clothes, putting together a worship service, sharing life with others, whatever it is…we must do this together.

Teamwork makes the dream work.   ​

¹ John C. Maxwell, Teamwork Makes the Dream Work.
    Used with permission from Maxwell Leadership (maxwellleadership.com).

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Kim serves alongside her husband, James, as Chi Alpha missionaries at Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO). They​have two daughters, Abbi & Lizzie, and one fur baby, a black Labrador named Natasha. Kim attended Missouri State University in Springfield, MO, where

she was introduced to Chi Alpha Campus Ministries her freshman year. After she graduated in 2006, she spent the next seven years at the University of Missouri in Columbia, serving as a missionary associate with Chi Alpha. In 2013, she and James felt led to pioneer a Chi Alpha where there wasn’t one. Through a series of God-moments, He brought them to Cape Girardeau, MO and the campus of SEMO. Since then, they have both become ordained ministers, learned even more about life and ministry, and fallen more in love with God and each other. Kim is a huge fan of coffee, dogs (especially labs), books, and her college kids. She loves doing Chi Alpha with her whole family by sharing life together.