A Staff that Knows How To Have Fun...

One of the biggest things I'll take away from my residency at Fellowship is that you can't beat a staff that knows how to have fun together.

Fellowship currently has something like 60 people on full and part-time staff, and at least once a quarter we have a "Staff Fun Day." The ministry teams take turns organizing the events of the day (we also have a monthly "Staff Day of Prayer" which is similarly organized by ministry teams). Today, the Worship Arts team was responsible for staff fun day, which consisted of taking about 2 hours to view several of the short films that have been nominated for Oscars in the past. Then we threw our own Oscar party and let the staff vote on the best and worst of the short films. Past "Staff Fun Days" have included relay races, a trip to an arcade, and the transformation of the entire office building into a miniature golf course.

This staff knows how to have fun.

Now, I know what you're thinking. "What a waste of time. Don't these people have ministry to do?"

Yes they do, and that's the point. Ministry is about people. And a staff cannot take care of other people if they don't take care of themselves. At Fellowship, we have somewhere around 60 talented, highly functional, uber-driven people, many of whom would work 90 hour work weeks because they're so serious about what they do. Someone somewhere along the line realized that the staff that prays together should play together, and the staff that plays together stays together, and the staff that stays together will be able to do more good than the staff that is constantly adjusting to the turnover that comes as a result of burnout, wearout, or fallout.

It's a good thing to have a staff fun day every once in a while. (And if you're ever in need of a good short film suggestion, ask our Creative Arts Pastor John Maikowski, but be sure to specify that you don't want any that involve dog kicking...)