T E A M B U I L D I N G

6
Chapter

TEAM BUILDING
―TEAM!‖ ON THREE

Introduction 109
Getting to Know You—Balloon Bop 110
Dealing with Crisis—Sharing a Meal 110
Building Communication—Lego Mania 111
Raging River 112
Cohesiveness—Relay Races 112
Essential qualities of effective team members 114
Characteristics of an effective team 115
Team Attitudes 117
Communication 117
What does the Bible have to say? 118
Method of Conflict Resolution 118
Styles of Conflict Resolution 119
A Team Covenant 121
Team Covenant Example 121

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―Team!‖ on Three
Team building

T
he Bible talks about followers of Jesus as the body of Christ, each having its
function and purpose in the body. God has gifted us all in unique and
special ways. We need each other in order to serve more effectively. In
order to be an effective team, we need to learn how to work with the other
body parts! In this section, there are different team-building exercises, reflection
activities and Bible studies to engage your group in how to work together more
effectively and Christ-like. This section also includes ―Characteristics of an Effective
Team‖ and some sample Team Covenants.

If you want to go a bit deeper with self-reflection and team

I C O N K E Y
coordination conversations, take a look at David Kiersey and
 Exercises Marilyn Bates‘ book, Please Understand Me.59 It has an
 Journaling abbreviated version of the Meyers-Briggs Personality
 Forms Indicator, along with descriptors. You may also use other
personality-type tests such as Meyers-Briggs Personality
 Bible Study Indicator or DISC.

59Kiersey, David and Marilyn Bates, Please Understand Me, (Del Mar, Calif.: Prometheus Nemesis Book Co,
1984).

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
Balloon Bop
Team Building Exercises
Local Service
Find opportunities for your team to serve locally before you travel
to another part of the world. Coordinate a local project – i.e. work
in soup kitchen, volunteer at local shelter.

Supplies—5-6 medium sized balloons.

Make sure the whole team is introduced before you begin the game. The point of
this game is to help people learn names and work together. Stand in a circle. Toss a
balloon in the air and call someone's name. That person must hit the balloon to
keep it in the air. If the person succeeds he/she calls the next name. You can have
more than one team, for competition, or have the whole group play together to see
if the balloon can stay in the air long enough for each person to have a turn.

Variation—As well as calling out someone's name, also call out a body part, which
that person has to use to keep the balloon in the air until he/she calls another


person's name and body part.

Dealing with Crisis—Sharing a Meal

Begin a meeting with a meal… not an ordinary meal; it‘s a meal
that comes with a lesson. Before you eat, be sure you pray.

Cook a meal together from the country where you will be

traveling. Split the team into smaller groups, responsible for
different parts of the dinner. Once the menu has been chosen, have some people
shop, others cook, the rest set-up and clean up.

Variation—The Team Leader is to create a ―lunch crisis‖ – (you may wonder what
this has to do with team building, but it will make sense as the activity unfolds).

Options for creating the crisis:

 Pre-order food at a nearby restaurant. Send a designated group to pick it up
and have them determine how the food will be divided among the whole
team.

 Elect one person to purchase food for the entire team without any
discussion or input from the team members (about $3 per person).

 Give each person $3 and send them to a grocery store to purchase lunch,
then eat together.

 Pre-pack food and allow a chosen group to distribute it according to their

determination.

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Discussion

After the team is done eating, unpack the experience a bit. Ask:

 How did the ―task‖ of feeding the team get accomplished?

 Did everyone get to eat (and have enough)?

 How were decisions made?

 How did the team feel? Was everyone happy? Why or why not?

 Did we learn anything about how we function from this exercise?

 What might this have to do with the mission experience?

Building Communication—Lego Mania

Supplies: Lots of Legos

Here is a chance to see how groups work together, how they communicate, who
rises to the top as a leader. This activity includes a discussion time at the end to help
the team process their experience.

 Divide the Legos into four identical piles (same amount ~ color, shape and
size). Before the activity, take one of the four piles of Legos and make a
fairly complex object. Don‘t let the team members see this model (hide it
someplace).

 Create three teams for the activity. The goal of the game is be the first team
to duplicate the model you‘ve made.

 At the start of the game, each team sends one representative out of the
room to study the model for 10 seconds. That person then returns to the
team and describes how to assemble the Legos. But the person who looked
at the model cannot touch the Legos.

 Every 30 seconds, another person from each team gets 10 seconds to look
at the model.

 As the game develops, there will be confusion and conflict in terms of

whose descriptions are correct and whose are not correct. How each group
handles the process will yield valuable insights as to how the participants will
work together under stress.

 End the game in 5-10 minutes, or when a team successfully completes their
model, whichever comes first.

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 Debrief questions:

1. How did team members communicate in ways that were helpful?

Not helpful?

2. What can we all learn about communication from this activity?

Raging River
This bridge-building activity is an interactive way to learn about team and
communication. For this bridge-building exercise you will need to create a river
(piece of tape to mark the boarders of the river) and for each team, which people
can stand on. Divide your mission team into 2 or more groups of 8 people. The
goal of the activity is for each group to get across the river. The objects used by each
team must always be touching someone...if they set the object in the river and take
their hand/foot off of it...it is gone and the team only has four objects now...and so
on. Add some more challenges for the group to deal with: choose one team
member to be blind, another to only use one leg, another who cannot speak. If any
one touches the river, they must start all over. It is fun to see who leads, who
follows, who encourages, etc...

Bring the groups together and ask the following questions:

1. What did you find out about yourselves as you tried to work together?

2. Who became the group leader? Why? How did the rest of you feel
about your leader?

3. Did everyone in your group participate? If not, why not?

4. What new skills did you discover in your teammates?

Cohesiveness—Relay Races
Relay Races are a great way to laugh and encourage teamwork. There are a myriad of
ideas for teams competing against each other to get objects or people from one
place to another. The point of this activity is to have fun, develop relationships, and
see how your group functions together (or not). Split your mission team into at least
two groups and let the races begin.

Take video of your mission team doing relay races. They can be quite entertaining to
watch later! Here are a few ideas:

Cotton Ball Relay

Needed: Cotton balls and spoons for each team. Two bowls for each team.

Rules: Determine a starting line and a turn back line about 15 feet apart. Divide the
group into even teams and have them line up at the start line. Put cotton balls for
each player in a bowl at the start line. Place the empty bowls at the turn back line.

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Say Go!. Each player uses the spoon to scoop a cotton ball from the bowl and then
walk (or run) to the other bowl and drops it in. If they drop it along the way they
don't pick it up. Instead the return to the bowl and get another cotton ball (you'll
want to have at least 2 cotton balls for each player just in case they all drop a few).
After they've completed the task successfully, they race back to the line and hand the
spoon to the next person. The race continues until one team wins.

Old Clothes Relay

Needed: Box of old clothes for each team.

Rules: Divide players into equal teams. For each team have a suitcase or box
containing a large shirt, shorts, boots and hat. In turn each player must put on old
clothes and run to a certain point where they take the old clothes off, put them back
in the box, and run back to start where the next player repeats the process etc. until
one team finishes and wins.

Shave the Balloon Relay

Needed: Balloons, shaving cream, and razors

Rules: Divide into equal teams. Blow up balloons for each player team and cover
with shaving cream. Hang balloons from a string tied to an overhead pole etc. You
can even draw faces on the balloons for fun. Each team sends one player at a time
to shave their balloon.

Winning: Each completed balloon gets a point. Each popped balloon gets zero


points. The most points wins!

Construction Skill Relay

Figure out a way to practice skills that need to be used on the
mission site. Will you dig holes? Hammer? Nails? Saw wood…
with an actual hand saw? Sounds like it‘s time for a Skills Relay.

This takes a little time to plan for materials/tools and it takes

some space to allow people room to move around. Determine 6 essential skills that
will be helpful to your work project – in addition to those mentioned above, what
about sweeping (it‘s important to learn the correct way to do this), painting,
measuring? There will be one station for each skill.

Preparation: Gather enough sample materials for up 5 people to ―practice‖ at a

time. Assign a ―knowledgeable/capable‖ leader to each skill station, which are set up
around a room or a parking lot or someplace else you can get messy. Materials
should be set up at each station, ready to use. The leader‘s job is to demonstrate the
correct way to do the task; then, have each participant do the task – until they
accomplish it well. The leader gives the final approval for the participants to move
on to the next station.

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Running the Relay: Divide your mission team into smaller groups (3-4 people is
ideal). Assign each group a skill station at which to start. When all people in the
group have the approval of the skill station leader, their small group may move to
the next skill. Be sure the groups are rotating from station to station in the same
direction… be sure all groups go to all stations… keep the groups together… this is
NOT a race to finish first. The point is to finish well, help the team members
develop skills and learn to work together to accomplish the tasks.

Relay Race Debrief

With your relay team, have group members answer the following questions:

 Share a past experience in which you were a member of a group or team

(i.e. sports, music, planning committee). List the experiences shared on
newsprint, visible to all.

 Share the benefits of being part of these teams? What were the challenges?

 What is the difference between a group experience and a team

experience? Have your small group come up with a definition of a
team… and write it on newsprint.


What does the Bible have to say about teamwork?
Have each small group look at one of the following passages:

1 Corinthians 3:6-9
1 Corinthians 12:12-19
1 Corinthians 12:20-27
What does the passage have to say about being a part of a team? List your
answers on newsprint.

 1 Cor. 3:6-9 (different people have different roles; God causes growth; we‘re
all in this together)

 1 Cor. 12:12-19 (no room for inferiority; necessity of all parts; all one body)

 1 Cor. 12:20-27 (no superiority; no division; one-for-all/all-for-one)

Essential qualities of effective team members are:

 A Christ-centered life.
 Commitment to the mission work of the church, exemplified by an
enthusiastic and positive attitude.
 Willingness to follow guidance of the team leader.
 Flexibility and openness to other cultures and ways of worship.
 Willingness to serve in friendship and mutuality with the host and the host church.

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 A cooperative and courteous way of relating to others.

 The Bible talks of the body being made up of many functions and desires
that we function as one in spite of our differences.


Characteristics of an effective team
Divide into groups and discuss the following characteristics of
being an effective team. Each group should record their
reflections and share them with the larger group. When the
exercise is over, it would be helpful to get the notes from each
group to compile for future use in creating a Team Covenant.

Clear purpose and vision

1. Why are we going?
Recognition of gifts, abilities and personalities in each other
2. What gifts do you see in others?
Agreement on the plan
3. We will adhere to the agenda of our hosts, not ours.
Environment of affirmation and appreciation
4. How can we do this?
Solid relationships
5. How will we accomplish this?
Trust
6. Are there any issues of trust we must address?
Able to manage mistakes
7. Know and follow Biblical guidelines for conflict. (Mathew 18)
8. How will we act WHEN others screw up?
Good communication
9. What‘s our model of communication?
Selfless contribution
10. What area is it going to be difficult to be selfless in?
11. How can you encourage others?
Respect for others
12. What will this look like?
Free flow of information and communication
13. Communication is key.
Develop positive attitudes
14. Culturally, how will this happen with a language barrier?
Commitment to learn. Never assume you know everything
15. What is one area you could stand to grow in?
Flexible
16. Is this an area you will have problems in?

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
Team Attitudes
Like Christ

Your attitude should reflect Christ at all times. Your words will
often be validated or cancelled by your attitudes.

Attack the problem, not the person. James 4:11

Verbalize feelings. Don‘t act them out. Eph 4:25
Forgive, in place of judging. Mark 11:25
Give more than you take. Acts 20:35
Let love dominate. Luke 10:27
Humble yourself before the Lord. James 4:10
Actions will speak louder than words. John 13:35
Do not complain. James 5:9, 1 Thes. 5:16
Flexibility
Being flexible is essential to survive cross culturally. Many things may seem wrong to
you but they are just different. Without flexibility, both cultures will seem wrong. Be
open to learning what is important in other cultures and why it is important.

Toward Relationships
The way you interact with each other is what will make your teamwork possible. Be
aware of the way you treat: team members vs. team leaders, best friends, cliques,
nationals you will come into contact with, dating relationships on your team and/or
in your host culture. Be intentional in developing relationships with many people
you come in contact with—sometimes the places you least expect it.

Leadership
Attitudes of leaders, and attitudes toward leaders vary from place to place. It‘d be
helpful for your mission team to discuss expectations of team leaders as well as
expectations of team members. Find out the accepted leadership structures in the
place you are traveling. If you are from a context that is more collaborative in
approach, inviting input from many people, it may be surprising to encounter
cultures where there is clearly defined hierarchy. In all contexts, leaders ought to
follow the example of Jesus Christ – who loved others deeply, used authority wisely,
and was sacrificial in his responses to people.

Of Servanthood
Jesus Christ calls us to serve others; to love others. As team members interact with
each other, remember the call to service. How will servanthood fit into your team?
What does Phil 2:3-4 say and how can you apply it as a team?

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Reminders for Healthy Teams

1. Work out problems one on one as often as possible

2. Involve team leadership if it cannot be worked out one on one.

3. Prayer times as individuals, small groups, and as a team are vital.

4. Build team unity. Work at it. Commit to it.

5. Realize conflict is not all bad. Sometimes, rightly handled conflict will bring
you closer as a team.

6. In conflict focus on the issue, not the personality or person

7. Avoid blaming, anger and rage. Often these will cause deeper conflict.

8. Do not attack, gossip, or avoid the conflict.

Communication
Inevitably, there will be communication challenges within the mission team (with
people who speak our ―mother tongue‖!). There will be times that someone is
misunderstood, someone is hurt, and conflict will come. In order to work through
these times, it is important to set some communication ground rules, and teach the
team how to resolve conflict.

The art of relating

Respect other team members. Seek to understand what the person is saying, where
they are coming from. Be careful not to jump to conclusion, but hear them out.

Participate in discussions
As an individual member of the team, your opinions, thoughts, facts, and feelings
are important. Your silence may indicate agreement with a decision or opinion,
whether or not that is true.

Address behavior, not personality—and be specific.

Keep from making generalizations like, ―you‘re always thinking of yourself,‖ or
―you‘re too sensitive.‖ Instead, give the person you are speaking with concrete
examples like, ―it is important for you to limit the time you spend in the bathroom
so there is adequate time for each of us.‖

Speak for yourself.

Share your own thoughts, feelings, and opinions. It is important not to disclose the
feelings or thoughts of another person. Allow them to do so for themselves.

Use ―I‖ messages.

This allows you to share your own feelings without making others feel defensive.
For instance, ―I was angry when you gave everyone but me a piece of candy‖ allows
you to express your frustration and allows another person to hear it. Had you said,

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―You make me angry,‖ the other would have felt attacked and had no specific
behavior to address.

―Never‖ use ―never‖ or ―always.‖

These are inflammatory phrases. ―You never do your share,‖ will hurt feelings and is
hardly ever true. Better phrasing of that would be, ―It seems to me you were trying
to avoid carrying as many blocks as some of the others today.‖ That allows for
discussion of the perceptions and the realities, such as the person wasn‘t feeling well
or the viewer wasn‘t there to see them at all times.


What does the Bible have to say?
Scripture lays out important principles for us in relating to one
another. Take a moment to pray for your group and the hearing
of God‘s Word. Read Mark 12:28-34 and discuss the passage:

What is the greatest commandment? What does loving God

entail?

What is the second greatest commandment? How are we to love others?

How does loving God, loving others, loving ourselves keep us close to the
Kingdom of God (vs. 34)?

How does this passage call the mission team to relate to one another?
Would putting these verses into practice change how you responded to the
―food crisis‖ at the beginning of this meeting? How?

Put it into practice

Time to talk about resolving conflict… it will enter into some part of the mission
experience… when we encounter a time, place, relationship, experience where
there‘s conflict, what do we do?

Method of Conflict Resolution

 Check my attitude (Philippians 2:3). Ask, ―am I being overly sensitive or is
this an issue that needs to be dealt with?

 Approach the other in love (1 Peter 4:8). Remember that others are out of
their normal environment, just like you.

 Ask for clarification. Ask the person you are in conflict with, ―did I
understand you correctly?‖ or ―what did you mean by…?‖

 Listen (James 1:19). You have two ears and one mouth. Seek to understand,
rather than to prove your own point.

 Own your own stuff. Acknowledge your responsibility in the conflict or

misunderstanding.

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 Work out a mutually acceptable understanding or solution. It‘s not about

one person ―winning‖ and the other ―losing,‖ but find middle ground, a
compromise.

Styles of Conflict Resolution60

Compromising
 The compromiser doesn‘t feel it‘s possible to satisfy everyone fully; the aim
is to make all parties partially satisfied, preserve relations.

 The compromiser subordinates personal desires for the common good of

all parties and/or the organization. This person seeks both creativity and
effectiveness.

 ―Win some; lose some‖. While giving up the ―best‖, it often achieves the
―good‖.

 The goals of all parties are valid; a compromiser does not believe the
differences are worth fighting over. Time doesn‘t allow for deeper solutions.

Competing
 The competitor‘s goal is to win at all costs. S/he believes his/her ideas,
values, and goals are supreme and cannot let people stand in his/her way.

 The competitor operates with the belief that their way is the only way. This
person will make their way through assertion, domineering behavior with
smooth diplomacy or raw power.

 ―I win; you lose.‖ In this mode there is possible short-term gain. But, the
approach creates:

 Polarization between the parties in conflict and fosters hostility.

 Sometimes the competitor is needed when a quick or unpopular

decision must be made.

Avoiding
 The avoider stays out of conflict; seek neutrality. This person doesn‘t care
enough about the issue to suffer tension or discomfort over it.

 The avoider is unassertive, passive, does not cooperate in defining conflict

or finding solutions. This person reacts with denial and withdrawal to tense
situations.

60 Adapted from World Servants, Pre-Field Training (Siloam Springs, Ariz.) 5-8.

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 ―You lose; I lose.‖ Avoidance is a non-productive strategy. This approach

abdicates responsibility and produces great frustration.

 The avoider believes the problem is not their responsibility. The problem is
viewed as relatively insignificant. Participants may be helpless, as they are
too fragile or insecure. The differences are irreconcilable.

Accommodating
 The accommodator preserves relationships, within groups and opposing
parties, at any cost. This person believes that the work and goals are less
important than relationships.

 The accommodator tries to embrace everyone involved in the conflict.

He/she will sacrifice self and accept blame to bring peace to relationships.

 ―You win; I lose.‖ This person eventually feels like a doormat. S/he allows
those who always get their way to believe their ideas are superior.

 This person thinks the problem is not too significant, when s/he is unsure
about his/her own ideas or weak position. The accommodator considers
other solutions.

Collaborating
 This individual works to achieve a ―win‖ situation for all parties. Conflict is
not to be avoided, but turned to a passive, problem-solving process.

 The collaborator is assertive but also flexible. He/she promotes mutual

respect, open communication, and full participation by all in the process of
managing a conflict.

 ―You win; I win.‖ This approach benefits all. This person leads to honest
clarification of issues, with shared decision-making and implementation.

 In most conflicts, especially those involving long-term goals and


relationships, requires maturity and patience.

A Team Covenant
It‘s almost time to go… the team has had a variety of experiences
to this point in which to learn. There have been opportunities for
self-understanding and group dynamics. The team has shared
stories, studied Scripture, and prayed together. Now it‘s time to
commit to acting upon lessons learned. As a team, you will write
and sign a team covenant.

On a large piece of butcher paper, list the team‘s responses to the following
questions:

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1. What is the goal/vision of the mission trip? (Why is the group going?)

2. What kind of attitudes do we want to show to each other?

3. What kind of behavior do we want to practice on this trip?

4. What kind of traits do we want to characterize our group?

5. How will we help each other do the above?

After a thorough discussion, decide how you want to write your group‘s covenant.
There is a ―template‖ at the end of this section you may use as a place to start.

Once the Team Covenant is written up, have the entire team sign the paper. You
may even want to photocopy the agreement, so every team member may have a
copy to remember the commitment they have made to each other, to God, and the
host ministry. You may want to bring the covenant with you to keep in a place your
team will be reminded of their commitment to one another and to the mission.

Team Covenant Example61

We, the members of this mission team, believing that God has called us together to
serve, agree to commit to the following: We desire to be a team of people
characterized by Christ-like behavior exhibited through unconditional love, unselfish
service and unified teamwork. Our ultimate purpose as a team and as individuals is
in accordance with 1 Cor. 9:23.

We believe that we can fulfill this covenant through the following commitments:

 To maintain a servant attitude to my hosts, my team leaders and the team.

 To remember we are guests working at the invitation of local
churches/ministries.
 To be a learner, not a judge.
 To ALWAYS try to be as adventurous as possible.
 To refrain from such comments as ―at home we do it this way!‖ We realize
that our team is here for just a short while, but the local church is here for
the long term. We will respect their knowledge, insights and instructions.
 We will uphold our motto: Absolutely NOTHING can happen that can
make me complain! Instead of whining we will be creative and supportive.
 We commit ourselves to resolve all team conflicts according to biblical
principles. We will talk directly to those we have a problem with before we
gossip to anyone else about it. Then, if necessary, we will get a leader
involved. We also commit to pray through these situations.

61 A print version is available in the Logistics section

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 We commit to not being exclusive in our relationships. If my

boyfriend/girlfriend is on the mission experience, we will make every effort
to interact with all members of the team. If attraction to another team
member develops, I will not pursue an exclusive relationship until after I
return home and my parents support it.
 We commit ourselves to personal quiet times with God knowing that
growing individually is essential to growing as a team.
 We all commit ourselves to work to the best of our God-given ability every
day. We will encourage each other to work hard and we will make the time
as fun as possible. We know that our attitudes while working are a huge
testimony to the local community!

We recognize that __________________________________________________

___________________________________________are the official leaders of
our team. In situations of team concern, these leaders will be the team guides. We
also recognize that this short-term mission experience is an opportunity for us all to
develop God-given leadership ability.

I, ______________________________, as a member of this short-term team will

commit myself to abide by this covenant to the best of my God-given ability.

Signed ________________________________________ Date __________

―…I have voluntarily become a servant to

any and all in order to reach a wide range
of people: religious, nonreligious,
meticulous moralists, loose-living
immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized
– whoever. I didn’t take on their way of
life. I kept my bearings in Christ – but I
entered their world and tried to experience
things from their point of view. I’ve become
just about every sort of servant there is in
my attempts to lead those I meet into a
God-saved life. I did all this because of the
Message. I didn’t just want to talk about
it; I wanted to be in on it!‖ 1 Cor. 9:23
The Message

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