Matthew’s question to Madison: What excites you about being on a team?

Growing up, I never played on sports teams. I much preferred the individual sports – there was way less pressure.

Let’s be real, I didn’t play any sports.

BUT if I did, I’d be the gymnast, or the swimmer, or playing any racket sports. I remember almost joining the badminton team at the end of high school, but since I had never been on a sports team before, I was way too scared – and unfortunately I regret it. I played squash in university for a bit, and though I was terrible at it, I enjoyed being on the court with one other player smashing the ball against the wall.

There’s something about competing on my own that I see as a challenge, and there’s no other personality to have to work with. It’s just me. I work within my own skills and abilities, I know all of my thoughts, and I can predict every step I take.

Yep, I like control.

And yes, I see the flaws in my own thinking.

I’m an independent to a fault.

I’ve been part of many teams, and some were amazing – others were awful. I had a group project in second year which was supposed to have five people in it, but it ended up being just my friend and I doing the entire project. It was a brutal experience.

Last summer, there were three interns that worked for us, and I was able to work closely with them. The four of us made a great team! Our personalities meshed well, and we all worked hard and trusted each other to get the job done. And while we worked, we had fun. It was an amazing team.

In my new role at North Park, I have a new team I get to work with. There are three of us on the lead team for the new church plant starting in September of this year. In the two months of being this team, we’ve worked through a lot, and I already know we’re going to make a great team. We’re figuring out how each of us functions, what our roles are, and our communication styles. There are some pretty significant differences between us, yet it works.

And I have complete confidence and trust in both of them.

That’s probably the main reason why I’m excited to work with them. As seen in my earlier experiences, I struggle being on teams that I can’t trust; I don’t like being on sports teams because I can’t predict the relationships or the outcomes of others actions. And I know I’m not the only one in this boat.

But I’m continually learning the beauty in the mess of working together.

Working on the new churches’ lead team isn’t the only team I’ll be working with. There are people who are stepping into leadership roles already as we prepare to roll out the red carpet for opening day, and I get to work closely with them as well.

Let me be the first to say – we have an AWESOME team so far.

I love the conversations around new ideas, inspiring one other with conversations we’ve had with neighbours in the area, and reminding each other of how God is working.

The excitement and dedication is real!

Here are a few things I’m specifically excited about being on this team:

1) It’s missionally focused

I love being on a team that strives to live beyond themselves. And though we’re all still selfish and want to have our own way of doing things, the main focus of our conversations is around what God is calling us to do specifically in the neighbourhood we’re in – and I LOVE that.

2) People’s passion pushes them to go above and beyond

There are people on our team who have done way more than we’ve asked of them already. That shows that they’re dedicated to the work, they’re faithfully pursuing what God has called them into, and they aren’t waiting for the lead team to tell them what to do – they see a need, and they fill it; they want to learn more, so they’ll go find the answer.

3) We speak truth, and aren’t afraid to challenge

With a diverse set of personalities, we see things differently; with our vast set of experiences, we bring a variety of perspectives. We need it all. So far the team has been amazing at voicing those thoughts in a respectful way, and because of it, we’re able to work through things even before the church opens. These conversations have built strong bonds of trust.

Yes, there’s mess when it comes to working with people – and I make my fair share of them. Oh do I ever. But this team is built of a shared faith, and that makes the world of a difference.

And that’s why I couldn’t be more excited to work on this team.