At the outset let me say the title of this post is a
misnomer for, though I analyze two different sets of cross-cultural workers in
Senegal, only one is a true team, the other is a group.
Team is one of
those popular mission buzzwords.
Sending agencies like to promote their team concept, in planting
churches or the ethos of their organization. I saw a T-shirt a few years back with the slogan “It Takes A
Team” written in large print below the agencies logo. However, as this post points out, team is sometimes more of
a concept than actual fact. This
short case study helps define what a team and missions is all about.
IT TAKES A GROUP – Over fifteen years ago my brother (who is
a business consultant) and myself met with a group of missionaries working in
Dakar, Senegal. The mission
organization they were members of had been in the country for over forty
years. At that time we met them
there were five families living and serving in the city. They met every Wednesday for a team
meeting and prayer with a team leader facilitating the meeting. Each member gave a report of his or her
projects. None of the ministry
activities were related. There
were no decisions that were made at these meetings, suggestions, perhaps, on
how a problem might be resolved within a particular work, but little to no
integrated effort in any of the programs throughout the city. At the conclusion of our time in Dakar
my brother stated that they were not a team at all, but a group. A good group to
be sure, as they clearly supported each other and enjoyed getting together, but
they were certainly not a team.
Fast-forward fifteen years and it could be said that today
that they are barely a group and certainly no closer to becoming a team. They are in fact a fractured group as one
member stated categorically to me that as a group living in the same country
they were on the verge of “imploding” (partly due to poor leadership management
from the home office in the U.S.).
IT TAKES A TEAM – Visiting another area of the country I met
with a relatively new team that are involved in an agricultural project. This team is comprised of seven
families (five expatriates and two Senegalese), and three singles (one
Senegalese). The team was formed
just four years ago; all seasoned cross-cultural workers, from different
mission agencies, all of them having a good grasp of the language. Through personal interviews and sitting
in on team meetings it was apparent they truly function as a team. Each member of this team has a specific
role; each person also has a part of the decisions that make up this
ministry. At least five families
are a part of the pooled finances for the operation of the farm and they freely
share property, i.e. vehicles and tools.
This team has a strong focused purpose; to train local Christians in
appropriate farming techniques as well as biblical studies. They have one hundred acres of land to teach farming and
train fifteen interns for a year who live and work on the farm. After the interns have completed the program
and they return to they’re village, the team members visit them, following-up
to help the interns implement what they learn through they’re training.
This brief description of the two sets of cross-cultural
workers in West Africa is not to disparage one and exalt the other. The agricultural team has weaknesses;
the group in Dakar has (individual) strengths. The point is, there is a difference between being a
team that works together for a common cause and a group, who just happen to be
members of a the same sending agency.
Please click HERE to read the detailed analysis of the
agricultural team and judge for yourself.
Are you a team or just a group?
