How Deep Is Your Bench?

If you have worked in or with a secular organization or been on a sport team you probably have heard the term "bench." This is a term that is used for those who may not be actively working on a project or playing on field at a given time.

 

However, every team has a certain amount of players it needs in order to play the sport. For instance, football has 11. Baseball has 9 players. Soccer has 10. Basketball has 5. But what happens if a player gets injured, tired, sick, or thrown out of the game?

 

Every team has what is known as a "bench." Every team also knows the importance of building their bench. Let's take a look at a typical NFL team. On the roster at every game there are 53, but only 46 are allowed to suit up for the game. There is on average 22 coaches per team. This is not including the office and administration staff, scouts, or the 8-member practice team. Coaches build their bench, because they never know when they will need to put someone in.

 

Think about your church or ministry. How many people or volunteers does it take to make Sunday's happen? What happens if someone gets sick? What happens if the main persons moves or leaves the team? What do you do when chaos happens? What about those times people are on vacation? What if your church or area of ministry doubled from one Sunday to the next?

 

The answer, can't be we will see when we cross that bridge? The answer needs to be, I am ready because I have a bench. Our saying here at Lighthouse, is we train because we want to be ready for who God brings to our campus. We train people to be always ready and who find joy and significance by serving others. 

Now this doesn't just happen. Building a bench for the church or ministry means that three things must happen on the team:

 

1. Community. The team must work together. Communicating what is best for the over all team. Building a bench means that even though one team member may not play that given day they know that they are still part of the team. Team members know what is going on. This happens when the leader leads by example. The team leader takes the time to serve and know his or her team. 

 

2. Team-Collaboration. Every player on the team knows where they are headed. They all know what the goal is and how they are going to reach that goal. There is no one "star player" at the table. However, there are team members from every walks of life, demographic, and areas of experience. 

 

3. Well-Balanced. Every sports coach knows that every team needs people with different skill-sets and talents. We need people on the team who can help us in our weak areas. The team player works toward their own individual strength and allows the other team members to play toward their God-given abilities. By doing this the team becomes well-balanced.

 

In building a "bench" it is important to find the ideal team players for the team that you are building. It is important for all team members to be able to find their fit on the team. Three things to think about when looking for the ideal team player. The coach will want to look for someone who is hungry, smart, and humble. 

 

1. The team player that is hungry is a go getter, does more than what is required, and looks out for the success of the team.

 

2. The team player that is smart is one who has empathy toward others, knows how his responses will effect the whole team, and is an active listener. 

 

3. The team player that is humble is one who is willing to give praise to other team players with out hesitation, shares the credit with the other team players, and takes responsibility for mistakes. 

 

You may not find someone with all three but this is what you are aiming for as a leader. Take your time and pray to the Lord of the harvest to send you workers that will help bring in the harvest from the field (i.e. those who are lost). Build your bench one person at a time assessing, positioning or even reposition, and leading those on your team who are serving in their passion, strengths, and skill-set.