7 Benefits of Team Huddle
With our change to being a church of Mission Teams, we are strongly encouraging all Mission Teams—both inside and out—to follow along with the Sunday message using the Team Huddle resource. This is a vital part of our teams becoming the discipling experience Pastor Bret cast vision for this past Fall.
Mission Teams that are using the Team huddle resource allow team members to be active participants in the mission and message of the Church. Here are seven ways following the Sunday message in your Team helps create a discipling environment:
Creates Relevancy. The Sunday morning teaching is a shared experience for everyone. Even if you missed a week (or two) you can still be in the flow of the series and have a general understanding of what is going on. Doing an outside study always runs the risk of alienating someone on the team or someone getting lost in the fourth week of a nine-week study. The Sunday morning message will always be current.
Creates Connection Points. In our simple church model, Mission Teams are the only place to get connected long-term. That means unconnected people need to be able to feel welcome immediately on Teams. Following along with Sunday content allows for seamless entry points and connection, especially for people who are still Exploring church or faith.
Creates Conversation. Whether we are snorting Romans, becoming Acts Monsters, or going through Project Life—whenever we have linked up Sunday mornings with daily Bible readings with our Teams, there is a buzz in and around One Life. It seems like everyone is talking about the same thing. Conversations spring up everywhere in natural ways. In a time where it feels taboo to talk about things of God outside the church building, any help we can give our people in having conversations about matters of faith, the easier it will be to communicate the Gospel.
Creates Alignment. If we are going to truly be one church in multiple locations, it is going to imperative to all be going in the same direction. Whether you are East, West, Hendo…Mt. Vernon, Boonville, Madisonville…the best way to make sure we are a united church body is to all be covering and talking the same thing.
Creates Actual Knowledge. Larry Osborne in Sticky Church says that actual knowledge occurs through four moves: (1) Inspiration (2) Familiarity (3) Boredom (4) Knowledge. What do you remember about the sermon last week? Maybe a vague sense of inspiration? One point that hit home? Retaining teaching takes repetition. By reinforcing the message through Teams it is possible to move the ideas and concepts presented through to actual knowledge—something lived out.
Creates Momentum. As the snowball travels downhill it becomes an avalanche. When people are connecting to the message, seeing its relevance, having conversations, headed in the same direction and retaining knowledge to the point of action—well that is some momentum!
Creates Genuine Engagement. Osborne also says that he noticed people listened better, took notes and were more focused on Sunday mornings. Wouldn’t Pastor Bret like that?! This happened because they knew they were going to get the opportunity to discuss it and share insights. Furthermore, it pushes people to the Bible more even outside of what is taught on Sundays. People take ownership of the message and show more overall engagement. And that has to be the goal, because the Good News of Jesus Christ is worthy of our best engagement.
None of that is to say that all of your team time should be dominated by discussing the Sunday morning message. We can never forget the importance of building genuine relationships on our Teams. Also, part of your time should be focusing on your mission, how are you helping people far from God experience Jesus? In support of that mission and relationship building, there’s no reason why you can’t supplement your time with another teaching or study. However, using the Team Huddle can create the above environment that will help build a connecting culture and discipling experience we need to Move.