In our ministry, we have the privilege of seeing God move in the hearts of Muslims and draw them to Jesus Christ.
But behind the scenes, a lot happens at the team level.
“Great things in business are never done by one person,” said Steve Jobs, the late Apple co-founder, in a 60 Minutes interview in 2003. “They’re done by a team of people.”
One reason why Frontiers is committed to sending men and women to serve on teams is because we expect God to do great things as we minister together as a body.
Early on in our ministry, we heard that interpersonal conflicts are the number one reason people leave the field. “Let’s commit that this will not be our reason for ever leaving the field,” my husband and I agreed.
This commitment has served us well. We’ve stayed in the game, even as we’ve faced conflict and experienced the pressure of team life bringing out weaknesses we didn’t even know we had.
Team life can be as amazing as it is hard. While local people around you say you talk like a baby due to your limited language, your teammates are the ones celebrating your small successes—like putting credit on your phone so you can send text messages.
It’s your teammates who acknowledge your victory when you buy something at the market without needing someone to step in to translate. They’re the ones who recognize your unseen cultural sacrifices when you successfully show hospitality for 8 hours to Muslim visitors.
Your teammates are more than ministry partners. They provide you with a safe place to cry and talk about culture shock. They become a surrogate family with whom you celebrate holidays, make life decisions, and so on. They’re able to appreciate the nuances of cross-cultural life that no one else can really understand.
This closeness means that when one member of a team hurts or needs to grow, the whole team feels it. We support each other and walk with each other through challenging seasons. But sometimes a teammate gets hurt as another tackles his or her struggles.
Team life can be as hard as it is amazing. Very recently we had to sit down with a couple teammates and address some hurts that had built up over the years.
Have you ever experienced a very difficult thing that was made precious because the Gospel was so present? As we worked to resolve our conflicts, grace and forgiveness flowed freely between us.
This is life on a team. We support each other. We love and serve one another. And together, we demonstrate the Gospel of forgiveness to Muslims around us who desperately need the peace of Christ we offer them.
**This account comes from a long-term worker. Names and places have been changed for security.**
Original article: https://www.frontiersusa.org/blog/article/why-we-work-as-a-team
