The old saying, “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,” has been used for many different morals of various stories over the years. Often, it means that when you view other people’s accomplishments from a distance, the view is deceptive and their reality is probably no better than yours.

On the other hand, maybe it is greener. Grass gets greener through careful care and maintenance. When we built our house, a landscaper friend helped us pick the best black soil, the best sod, and a highly rated in-ground sprinkler system. In addition to this important foundation of quality materials, our lawn also required regular weed control and fertilization. All of this care and maintenance has led to us having one of the most beautiful lawns in the neighborhood. (Thank you, honey, for all of your hard work.)

The same care that is needed to have a beautiful, golf-course type lawn is also needed for thriving, vibrant serving teams.

The life-giving atmosphere of your church and serving teams is something that must be cultivated and maintained.

Some of the care and maintenance that is required to build and foster healthy teams are frequent update communications, thoughtful attention and verbalizing appreciation of your team members as the basis for a healthy team. A little care and attention, some investment of time and resources, and voila! You have the best team ever!!

“And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” -Matthew 13:23

Ask yourself these questions as you evaluate if your team is as green as you want it to be:

• “What am I doing that consciously cultivates my team?”
• “What can I do to develop the members on my team in order for them to thrive?”