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• 0:13 — Who Val Stauffer is and why she’s the right voice on team building.

  • Val has led the Next Gen ministry at her church for between three and four years.
  • Her leader team runs nearly every part of the weekly service, so youth group continues even when she’s on vacation.

  0:25 — Building a team starts with knowing yourself as a leader.

  • Know what you are strong in as a leader, then find people who complement what you are not good at — if you’re highly administrative, recruit people who are great relationally, and vice versa.
  • The church is full of different kinds of people with different gifts; a good team is assembled from that variety on purpose.
  • Jesus recruited as He was doing ministry — as you go about your responsibilities, you’ll meet the right people for your team.

  2:14 — The 6 Cs for deciding if someone belongs on your team.

  • Christian: do they love Jesus in and out of the church? Checking their social media is a practical way to see.
  • Character: are they trustworthy and honorable? Val’s ministry runs background checks and calls three references.
  • Competency: can they actually do what the role requires? If they can’t sing, they shouldn’t be on the music team.
  • Chemistry: do they fit in with the environment your current team has set?
  • Culture: do they embody the mission — for Val’s ministry, “to know God and make God known”?
  • Called: do they want to be there? Watch their expressions and body language when you describe the role.

  4:48 — Equipping leaders: Moses, Jethro, and purposeful delegation.

  • In Exodus, Jethro showed Moses that while some things were his alone to do, there were real opportunities to bring other people into what God was doing.
  • Some things can’t be fully delegated — the weekly message and crisis care stay largely with the pastor — but much of the rest can.
  • “God honors purposeful delegation.” Val has her team take The Working Genius assessment to find each person’s gifting.
  • Example: an admin-gifted leader owns the entire service flow on Wednesday nights so Val is free to be present and pastor students and leaders.

  8:19 — Investing in people is what retains them.

  • Five levels of leadership: at baseline, people follow you because of your title; relationships are what create longevity.
  • Not investing in people is the biggest threat to retention, and it creates a bad culture on your team.
  • Celebrate unseen work — Val opens Wednesday nights with team shout-outs for the people whose serving nobody notices.
  • Develop “thick skin and a soft heart”: when someone cancels last minute or disappoints you, your response shows whether you value them as a person or just what they do for you.
  • When a leader’s daughter was hospitalized, Val visited them instead of counting absences — the leader came back, and her daughter started serving in the ministry too.

  13:10 — Atomic Habit: the 15-minute pre-service leader huddle.

  • Every week, Val meets with her leadership team 15 minutes before doors open, walks through the service order, and delegates responsibility for each part.
  • She’s not doing the welcome, the game, or worship — leaders and students run those.
  • Because everyone has had the chance to run everything, the team isn’t anxious when she’s gone.

  14:21 — Biblical Final Charge: Matthew 4:18-20.

  • Jesus set the standard for leadership: help people follow Him, and help them discover and use their giftings for the sake of the gospel.
  • “We don’t just give them responsibility for anything. We’re doing it so that the mission of Jesus can be accomplished.”