Recently, my church decided to transition to a new platform to manage our church's membership and attendance records. Naturally, the new organization assigned a personal contact to our staff within the company to assist us with transferring information, among other tasks. While speaking with our director of operations, who was leading the initiative, the company contact was surprised to learn about our method of partnership across programs within our church. Let me provide more context.

This conversation took place immediately after we wrapped up a successful week of VBS. During VBS week, it would not be unusual to see our lead pastor leading all the kids in worship, nor would it be out of the ordinary to see our director of operations leading skits. As one of the youth directors, I was serving the oldest kids in the youth ministry. On other days, you would see several of our elders greeting kids as they were dropped off. Students from the youth ministry helped lead classes and participated in various other activities. I could keep going! The point is that it was an all-hands-on-deck event—not because we didn't have enough volunteers, but because our staff and pastoral team knew we would be better together. Our ministries have a greater chance of thriving when we lock arms and work together to reach the next generation. Our children's director always plans such a fantastic week of VBS with a small army of volunteers, but there's nothing like knowing that our leadership is united and present. We support each other and want each other's events to go well. I have many stories like this! Now, back to the conversation.

The company representative was taken aback when he heard our director of operations say, "We just finished a great week of VBS." The representative said, "Oh, your children's ministry had a great week?" to which my friend and co-worker replied something like, "Oh, well, we all help with VBS." The representative was so accustomed to seeing ministries in silos that this concept was surprising for him to hear from a church of our size. I wish he didn't have to be so surprised. I wish this were commonplace for him, but unfortunately, even collaborative ministry with appropriate boundaries is uncommon today because ministers can too easily become protective or defensive of their programming. Here are three reasons for church staff members to go out of their way to collaborate whenever and wherever possible:

1. It keeps you humble. Ministering alongside your church staff will not always be easy, and you won't always get your way. This is good. Though you may have the best method to execute an event with precision, you will benefit from seeing it from other perspectives. If you're a control freak like me, this is tough. However, I've discovered I need my pastors and co-workers more than I ever realized.

2. It prevents your ministry from being reliant on you. The ministry that you have been given to run should be able to function whether you are always there or not. If the Lord calls you to another ministry or takes you Home, will the ministry suffer, or will it thrive in your absence? Spread ownership while maintaining vision-casting, grace-motivated leadership. It's possible!

3. It provides a unique chance to grow your staff closer together. While appropriate boundaries need to be in place, inviting other staff members to collaborate with your ministry can foster new levels of friendship and camaraderie, as ministry can be a
challenging endeavor. You're in the trenches together, and that creates a lasting bond. Believe it or not, new friendships can blossom when we invite others to be a part of the ministries we are passionate about.

As with any blog post, there's so much more to say on this subject—so many more qualifications to provide and ways to collaborate wisely. However, I hope this gets your gears turning. I hope this sparks new ideas and motivates us to work well together. Consider what can be achieved when strengths are combined and support is readily available.

I'm so thankful I'm not on an island at my church. I'm so grateful to have these brothers and sisters to support me, guide me, and help me in the role that God has called me to! I pray God leads you to the same staff environment!

Frank Trimble (D.Ed.Min., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the Executive Director of Family Time Training in Littleton, CO (famtime.com). His desire is to see home discipleship become the norm, rather than the exception, in the lives of believers all over the world. His primary ministry is to his wife, Kristin, andtheir two wonderful daughters, Ava and Olivia.