We’ve Got This…or Do We?

As a children’s ministry catalyst for Awana, I get the privilege of equipping leaders all over the U.S. each fall. I love serving leaders and teams as they move from “Help!” to a healthy level of “We’ve got this!” My family is gracious to let me travel most weekends in September and October. It’s not always easy being away from home, but the frequent flyer miles eventually pay off and I get to bring fun treats to my wife and teenage sons.

My favorite part of all this travel is engaging with faithful kid-influencers who are committed to multiplying lifelong relational discipleship. Whether I’m at a regional Awana Ministry Conference, the D6 Family Conference, or other local ministry trainings, it’s a joy to encourage and empower dedicated leaders and teams. I’m proud to say, there are children’s, youth, and family ministries thriving in many churches around the country.

But there is a downside too.

Do You Have “We’ve Got This” Syndrome?

The picture above was taken just before I spoke at an Awana Ministry Conference near Sacramento, CA. It was during sound check and the entrance doors were still closed. I could hear the buzz of conference attendees filling the foyer. It excited me to imagine these empty chairs filling up soon with over 500 children’s, youth, and church ministry leaders.

However, I’ve never attended or spoken at a leadership event where EVERY seat was filled. The same held true at this experience a couple weeks ago. In fact, I heard rumor that some leaders and teams didn’t attend because the topic on deck wasn’t relevant to them. Apparently getting stronger in lifelong relational discipleship wasn’t practical enough for them to invest in this training opportunity. If this is true, I’d say these leaders and ministries may have a case of WGTS! By saying yes to “we’ve got this,” some leaders and teams missed an invaluable team building experience provided by Awana.

When did you invest in the heart of your children’s and student ministries last? Obviously it’s unreasonable to bring your leaders and yourself to every ministry training that’s available. On the other hand, the kid-influencers in your care need inspiration, connection, and equipping on a regular basis to be most effective. Their best play is to serve from the overflow of what God is doing deep inside. If your team is running hard on the outside and running ragged on the inside, you might have a case of WGTS – a.k.a. “We’ve Got This” Syndrome.

Humility & Diligence: The Antidote to WGTS

Romans 12:3-8 is a challenging passage about the nature and responsibility of the body of Christ. Paul starts by cautioning believers to be self-aware and humble. He says, “Don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought” (v. 3). Then Paul goes on to elaborate about the variety of purposes and people that make up the church. One spiritual gift he identifies is leadership. Then, without hesitation, Paul calls spiritually gifted leaders to play this role diligently (v. 8b).

So what do humble and diligent leaders do?

Well, for starters, there are some things they don’t do. Humble and diligent leaders don’t puff up their egos thinking they have all the answers. They recognize the onset of WGTS and lay aside foolish leadership thinking. They don’t succumb to lies like: “We don’t need help or training. We can do this on our own. My team is doing fine. Our people can press on indefinitely. I have all the tips and tools we’ll ever need.”

On the contrary, humble and diligent leaders faithfully do whatever it takes to acquire fresh perspectives and learn along the way. They’re aware of the temptation to fall back on personal accomplishments as prideful fuel for future successes. They intentionally submit to God and others in order to grow in servanthood. They mine for applicable resources and implement the best ones in their area of responsibility. Rather than go it alone, they leverage influence and build relationships for the sake of their God-given vision.

Humble and diligent leaders recognize the invaluable nature of equipping experiences as a leadership community. Team building and training isn’t threatening to their way of doing things. Instead, they appreciate it as a gift to the body of Christ so that everyone can move toward maturity together as lifelong disciples and disciple-makers. When leaders let go of WGTS in exchange for humility and diligence, everyone wins.

On Second Thought

Hopefully you’ll think twice next time you catch yourself saying, “We’ve got this.” When you get another email invitation to another training, perhaps you’ll reconsider sending it to the trash folder. You bring knowledge, experience, resources, and understanding to your team’s table. But, just because you’re a as a longstanding ministry leader doesn’t mean you don’t have room to grow or improve.

Children’s, youth, family, and church ministry leaders have more opportunities than ever to receive equipping in lifelong relational discipleship. Awana is just one organization of many that provide ongoing leadership development. Remember the timeless wisdom of Proverbs 27:17: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Model this for the leaders you lead on a regular basis. Help them avoid developing “We’ve Got This” Syndrome by dealing with it in your own life and leadership first.

Interested in attending an Awana Ministry Conference this fall?

Click the image below or visit Awana.org/AMC to find a site nearby.