Church is a Team Sport

Ep. 14: Functioning as a Team

This episode of Church as a Team Sport focuses on the importance of teamwork within the body of Christ. Jim Putman and Lance Wigton discuss how churches can avoid division and instead function as a unified team, where every member values one another’s unique contributions. They highlight the dangers of personal preferences overriding the mission, the need for alignment in vision, and the spiritual battle to maintain unity.

Key Takeaways

• Satan’s Strategy: Divide and Conquer
• “If we get them fighting in the huddle, we own them on the line of scrimmage.”
• The enemy works to divide the church by isolating people and making them compete instead of cooperating.
• Disunity weakens the church’s ability to fulfill its mission.
• Individual Roles Must Align with a Collective Vision
• The church has different ministries (recovery, sports, worship, youth, etc.), but all must align under the same mission—making disciples.
• Differences in passion and gifts should not create division but should be seen as valuable contributions to the whole.
• Every team within the church must work together rather than competing for attention, resources, or validation.
• Balancing Individual Gifting with Teamwork
• Just like a football team needs quarterbacks, linemen, and receivers, the church needs a diversity of roles.
• Each person has specific gifts, but those gifts should serve the team, not just individual preferences.
• A right tackle and a quarterback have different skills, but both are necessary for success.
• Spiritual Maturity Includes Valuing Others’ Gifts
• Many churches fall into the trap of prioritizing certain ministries over others, creating silos.
• True spiritual maturity recognizes the value of all roles—teaching, shepherding, worship, outreach, and more.
• Jesus’ prayer in John 17 emphasized unity as a key identifier of His disciples.
• Vision-Casting is Essential to Prevent Division
• Leaders must continually remind the church of the shared mission to prevent ministries from becoming self-focused.
• A church with multiple ministries should ensure they see each other as partners, not competitors.
• Church leadership should model and teach unity, reinforcing the idea that different roles serve the same Kingdom purpose.
• Pride is the Enemy of Teamwork
• People either overestimate their importance (“I’m the only one that matters”) or underestimate it (“I don’t matter at all”).
• Both attitudes hurt the team—one creates division, the other creates disengagement.
• The focus should always be on Christ and His mission, not individual preferences.
• Diversity in Unity is a Strength, Not a Weakness
• Different churches may emphasize different strengths (teaching, worship, service), but a healthy church values a variety of gifts.
• The church should reflect a full picture of the body of Christ rather than fragmenting into like-minded groups.
• Valuing different perspectives and gifts strengthens the church’s witness and effectiveness.

Discussion Questions

• How do you see division affecting the church today?
• In what ways has pride—either thinking too much or too little of yourself—affected your role in the church?
• Are there ministry areas within your church that seem to compete rather than collaborate? How can you help foster unity?
• How do you balance using your individual gifts while still being a team player in the church?
• What steps can you take to value and support other ministries within your church?

Action Steps

• Identify any personal biases that might cause division and commit to valuing the whole body of Christ.
• Encourage and support other ministries within your church instead of competing for attention or resources.
• If you lead a ministry, take time to communicate how your work aligns with the church’s overall vision.
• Intentionally connect with people from different church ministries to understand and appreciate their contributions.
• Pray for unity in your church, asking God to help align everyone under His mission rather than personal preferences.

Closing Encouragement

A church that functions as a team is a church that thrives. When each person values others’ contributions and stays focused on the bigger mission, the body of Christ grows stronger. Unity is not about uniformity—it’s about bringing our different gifts together under the lordship of Jesus. Stay committed to the team, serve with humility, and let’s build a church that truly reflects the Kingdom of God.

Scripture References

• John 17:20-23
• 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
• Ephesians 4:1-6
• Philippians 2:1-4
• Romans 12:3-8

Looking forward to next time as we discuss Communication with Elders and Leadership!