TEAM’s

GUIDING  PRINCIPLES

Revised and Adopted May, 2001

A. PURPOSE 

The purpose of TEAM is to help churches send missionaries to establish reproducing

churches among the nations to the glory of God.

B.  VISION

We will work together to reproduce the body of Christ wherever the most people have the

greatest need.  (See following missiological principles, particularly C.7.) 

C.  MISSIOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES

1.  Our mission, by nature, is centered in God.  We work within God’s redemptive design for

human history, and our driving motive is that God be honored and worshiped by all

peoples everywhere.  We do everything we do to the glory of God. 

2.  Churches are responsible to identify and send those whom God has called. While some

can send missionaries without help, many churches can more effectively contribute to

the fulfillment of the Great Commission by pooling resources. We serve churches by

facilitating the sending, placement and evaluation process. We relate primarily to local

churches, while at the same time valuing church associations and denominations. 

3.  Although money, technology and other material resources have a significant role in the

mission of the church, God’s primary method is incarnational.  The message must be

carried and demonstrated by people.  Missionaries must be sent just as God sent His

Son.

4.  TEAM missionaries gather new believers into local churches.  (For a fuller explanation of

the church, see section N.) 

5.  To establish churches, TEAM missionaries evangelize the lost, disciple believers and

train leaders, largely within the context of the local church.  The more these activities are

rooted in local churches, the more they will lead to fully established churches.  In certain

areas of the world, the best means of establishing the church may entail using health

care, education, community development or other types of holistic methods of

evangelism.

6.  A church may be considered a reproducing church when the people are sharing the

Good News and are demonstrating a vision for reaching out to others.  The new church

does not necessarily have to start another church before TEAM missionaries move to

another assignment, but the potential and plan for reproduction should exist.

7.  TEAM works to establish churches where the most people have the greatest need.

Need is measured by the relative degree to which people have heard the gospel,

responded to it and manifested the presence of Christ through His body, the church.

"Most people" indicates that we will reach the centers of influence which have the

greatest strategic possibility of promoting a church-planting movement in a given

ministry area. 

8.  God's missionary movement is multinational and demonstrates the multiethnic character

of the body of Christ, bringing the strengths of each culture to the task of cross-cultural

evangelism and church planting. To be part of what God is doing, we will help churches

worldwide identify and send their own missionaries.

9.  The aspirations of TEAM’s purpose statement—"helping churches send missionaries"

and "establishing reproducing churches"—both apply to field missionaries.  Our

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missionaries work not only to establish churches but also to promote the missionary-

sending efforts of those churches.

D.  DEFINING VALUES OF TEAM

1.  God dependence.  We subject our lives to the truth of Scripture, and we rely on God

through prayer.  God provides what is necessary to carry out world evangelization.

While only God can save, we speak His words, use His gifts and reflect His love.

Without constant reliance on God through prayer and obedience to His Word, we can do

none of these things.

2.  Church focus.  Our work is focused on the church from beginning to end.  We engage

existing churches in cooperative efforts to establish new churches worldwide and then

encourage those churches to establish even more new churches.

3.  Vision.  Christian visionaries see the immediate future in light of eternity.  We see the

day when the people of God from every tribe, tongue, people and nation will be

gathered around the throne of heaven, worshipping Him.  Keeping our eyes on this

vision, we are adaptable and flexible, gladly changing methods when appropriate. 

4.  Passionate service.  Because lost people matter to God, they matter to us.  We go to

serve, not to be served.  We work where the gospel is least known because we have

been commanded to do so, and because people’s ultimate need is to find eternal life

through a personal relationship with God.

5.  Lifelong learners.  Character and competence are both indispensable.  None of us

starts with complete maturity or fully developed skills. Through lifelong learning and

development, we increase our effectiveness and become what God already knows we

can be.  We seek to empower all TEAM personnel to reach their full potential.

6.  Caring community.  People are our most valuable asset. We in TEAM relate to each

other in a community characterized by unity, trust, acceptance and diversity, linking

arms with God’s people wherever we find them.  We are accountable to one another,

evaluating ourselves regularly.  The more we are a caring community, the more we

demonstrate peace and brotherhood to a world torn apart by divisive hatreds.

E.  THE ROLE OF CHURCHES IN WORLD MISSION

TEAM believes that the more a church, whether in the homeland or the ministry area,

commits itself to the following priorities, the more effectively it will fulfill its God-given

mandate of world mission.   A reproducing church:

1.  Recognizes that fulfilling the Great Commission is its primary task in relation to the

world.

2.  Identifies through prayer and careful consideration the vision to which God is calling it

within the context of His global purpose and activity.

3.  Develops a strategy for systematically fulfilling its vision, involving every member. 

4.  Exercises faith that God will provide from within that church community the needed

prayer, people, gifting and other resources to accomplish its vision. 

5.  Prepares and deploys its people and resources, supporting them with the intensity of

prayer demanded for successful spiritual ministry. 

6.  Accepts its responsibility to spiritually nurture, shepherd and provide for its members

wherever they serve on its behalf. 

7.  Exercises careful stewardship by requiring accountability and by evaluating the

effectiveness of its investments of personnel, finances and other resources. 

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8.  Works together with the larger body of Christ, eagerly engaging and partnering with local

churches in the chosen ministry whenever possible.

9.  Establishes synergistic relationships with mission agencies and other organizations

where these will help fulfill its vision.

F.  ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

1.  The board of directors has the ultimate authority to govern TEAM and delegates

administrative responsibility to one executive director and other appointed officers. (See

article III.1 and IV.1 of the constitution.)

2.  TEAM organizes itself to care for the functions of mobilization, field ministries and

operations.  The executive director forms a leadership cabinet which is responsible for

the overall management of TEAM, including responsibility for its administrative, spiritual,

legal and financial integrity. 

3.  The work of TEAM in Canada is under the direction of the TEAM of Canada director who

is an ex-officio1 member of the cabinet and works closely with it.  TEAM of Canada has

a joint ministries agreement with TEAM USA and agrees to abide by the guiding

principles of TEAM. 

4.  Mobilization is responsible for “helping churches send missionaries” by providing

consultation with churches and individuals to discover and define their particular vision

for world mission and works with field ministries to generate and link ministry

opportunities with resources.

5.  Field ministries includes all missionaries and staff responsible for establishing

“reproducing churches among the nations.”  Leaders in field ministries work with

sending churches to provide the oversight, strategic supervision, member care and

developmental training necessary for all missionaries to be as effective as possible in

their ministry. 

6.  Operations is responsible to provide the services necessary for the mobilization and field

ministries functions.  These services include legal counsel, fiscal management,

accounting, headquarters management, information services, purchasing, mailing,

shipping and any other services deemed necessary. 

G.  RELATIONSHIP WITH SENDING AND SUPPORTING CHURCHES IN THE HOMELAND

1.  Sending Churches and Supporting Churches.

a.   Sending churches, often previously referred to as “home church(es)” are those

churches with whom missionaries have a special relationship.  A sending church

commissions and sends the missionaries, and participates with TEAM in their

spiritual nurture and discipline.  TEAM establishes and maintains a special

cooperative relationship with sending churches.

b.  Supporting churches also contribute to the financial, emotional and spiritual support

of the missionary but do not assume the same degree of spiritual responsibility. 

2.  Initiatives 

a.   TEAM will take seriously the initiative of any like-minded local congregation or

church association to work together to establish churches in a particular area or to

undertake a specific task which will further that goal.

b.  TEAM may decline a proposed project if it is outside of TEAM’s purpose or if we

cannot contribute significant resources or services toward its accomplishment.

1

Ex-officio means “by virtue of his office,”

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c. God may choose to use TEAM to initiate ministries, and we anticipate that God will

confirm this leading by calling churches to join us in cooperative efforts.

3.  Mobilization  

a.  All believers, regardless of age or spiritual maturity, have a God-given role in, and

gifting for, world evangelization.  To help churches challenge, train and mobilize their

members, we offer customized counsel, educational resources and training

opportunities.

b.  We assist churches to identify and make best use of the expertise, gifts and skills

God has invested in their members.

4.  Prayer 

a. We are responsible, by example and teaching, to encourage churches and

individuals to engage in effective intercessory prayer for the reaching of the lost and

the establishment of churches.

b. We will provide regular, specific prayer information.

5.  Personnel Screening and Preparation  

a.  Candidates for service with TEAM must be actively engaged in a local sending

church whose leaders enthusiastically affirm the candidates' calling, ministry

potential and readiness for cross-cultural service.  Usually this involves formal

membership.  Nonetheless, TEAM will screen candidates before appointing them to

service.

b.  Training and preparation for missionary service best occurs under the direction of

the local church.  TEAM is eager to cooperate with churches and will provide

counsel throughout this training process.  Service with TEAM will require additional

preparation where it will improve readiness for effective service.

6.  Missionary Deployment and Service 

a.  Ministry area leaders make decisions regarding missionary location and role in

consultation with the missionary, the sending church and the churches with whom

TEAM is cooperating in the ministry area.   (In most cases, the person best suited to

consult with the sending church is the missionary.)

b.  TEAM missionaries serve as ambassadors primarily of their sending church(es) and

secondarily of other supporting churches.  Involvement of the missionaries in

ministry- area governance allows those missionaries to represent the values and

perspectives of their churches in strategy and policy decision making.

7.  Ministry Accountability

a.  Churches delegate to TEAM day-to-day management and supervision of their

missionaries in the ministry area.  While management of the missionaries, including

responsibility for evaluation and accountability, is delegated to TEAM leaders (see

section J.3.(b)), TEAM also recognizes that missionaries remain ultimately

accountable to their sending church(es).  TEAM will provide, therefore, regular

evaluation reports to sending church(es).

b. TEAM invites interaction with sending churches about the ministry effectiveness of

their missionaries. 

c.  In a case where there is a conflict between a missionary and TEAM leadership,

TEAM welcomes the involvement of the sending church in seeking a mutually

acceptable solution. 

8.  Finances

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a.  The sending church is responsible, along with its missionary and TEAM, to trust God

for needed finances.  This involves a close, three-way cooperation among the

church, missionary and TEAM.

b.  As much as possible, TEAM missionaries seek their financial commitments from

churches rather than individuals.  In regard to soliciting financial commitments

directly from church members, TEAM missionaries will respect the guidelines of local

churches.

c. Financial contributions for the missionaries' ministries are handled by TEAM.  Full

financial disclosure is provided to contributors upon request.

H. EXPECTATIONS FOR ALL TEAM PERSONNEL

1.  TEAM personnel must be actively engaged in a biblically sound church.

2.  In TEAM we treat one another equally, regardless of race, gender or marital status,

encouraging each other to develop our gifts and skills in ministry. 

3.  All TEAM personnel will develop a growth plan for improving ministry effectiveness,

including cultural and linguistic competence where applicable.  These growth plans will

be used for accountability and evaluation.

I.  ADDITIONAL EXPECTATIONS FOR FIELD PERSONNEL

1.  Although TEAM takes precautions to avoid unnecessary risk for missionaries and their

families, it is understood that security can not be guaranteed and missionaries must

ultimately rely on God for protection and for aid in illness.  We believe that the indwelling

presence of Christ and  dependence on His Word are sufficient to sustain those who

sacrifice for the cause of Christ. 

2.  Missionaries must believe themselves led of God to missionary service and subject this

calling to the confirmation of their sending church. 

3.  Missionaries must meet the spiritual, educational, physical and personal qualifications

as set forth by the TEAM board of directors.

4.  Missionaries appointed by TEAM must be citizens of either the United States or Canada,

or have visas which permit remuneration under the laws of either country.

5.  Missionaries must agree and serve in accord with TEAM’s constitution, bylaws, and

guiding principles.

6.  Married missionaries must both be qualified, but their roles may differ.  The wife may

need to give priority to the care of the home and children, but she should remain alert to

opportunities for a wider spiritual ministry. 

J.  ORGANIZATIONAL PRINCIPLES FOR FIELD MINISTRIES

1. TEAM uses the term “ministry area” to refer to our largest organizational ministry unit.  A

ministry area may be comprised of one or more ministry projects, teams or geographic

regions.  In some cases where geopolitical boundaries are a useful means of strategic

planning, “ministry area” may refer to an entire country. In other cases where

geopolitical boundaries are not a useful means of strategic planning, “ministry area” may

be part of a country or more than one country.

2. The creation of a new ministry area must follow the criteria established by the board for

entry into new ministry areas.

3. TEAM helps ensure healthy working relationships by defining the difference between

governance and management.

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a.  Governance includes five broad responsibilities:

(1).  developing a strategic plan for the ministry area 

(2).  making major policy decisions

(3).  deciding on major allocations of resources

(4).  selecting leadership

(5).  providing appropriate administrative structures

b.  Management includes several specific responsibilities: 

(1).  developing specific strategies

(2).  interpreting and implementing specific strategies

(3).  making ministry assignments that are consistent with

a)  the strategic plan for that ministry area

b)  the calling, ability and gifts of the missionary

c)  the desires of  the sending church

d)  existing agreements with the churches in the ministry area with whom TEAM

cooperates.

(4).  providing oversight and requiring accountability

(5).  working toward continual improvement of missionary effectiveness

(6).   providing member care for the missionaries

(7).  developing relations with the local churches in the ministry area

(8).  managing finances and resource allocation 

4.  All the workers in a ministry area gather periodically to exercise governance.  (See

section J.3.a.)  Once all missionaries in a ministry area have participated in governance,

they follow the selected leaders who assume management of the ministry area in order

to fulfill the ministry area’s strategic plan.

5.  The role of ministry area leaders involves both governance and management.  In

governance, ministry area leaders lead their ministry area in the development of a

strategic plan to ensure that each ministry assignment is consistent with the strategic

plan.  In management, ministry area leaders hold missionaries accountable for their

individual part in carrying out the strategic plan, while seeking to enhance each

missionary’s effectiveness and provide encouragement and pastoral care.

6.  Regional directors exercise their role in governance by ensuring that all five governance

responsibilities are satisfactorily addressed and that the strategic plans for their ministry

areas fall within the parameters of TEAM's overall strategic vision, approving these

plans and passing them on through the cabinet to the board.  Their management is to

hold ministry areas and their leadership accountable for the fulfillment of their strategic

plans.

K.  MINISTRY AREA STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

1.  A strategic plan for a ministry area is best developed by those who are closest to the

context.  Each ministry area will develop a strategic plan that is consistent with TEAM’s

overall strategic vision.  A strategic plan for a ministry area will fulfill TEAM’s purpose,

help accomplish our vision, be founded on our statement of faith and reflect our core

values.  

2.  Sending churches participate in the creation of strategic plans through their

missionaries.  (See G.6.b.)

3.  TEAM encourages educational, literature, medical, and media ministries and other

institutional infrastructures which contribute directly to the fulfillment of our purpose and

are essential to the strategic plan of a given ministry area.

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L.  MINISTRY AREA POLICY DEVELOPMENT

1.  Visionary thinking requires adaptability of method.  Each ministry area organizes itself in

the manner most conducive to carrying out its strategic plan. While respecting the

distinction between governance and management, the ministry area, in consultation with

and approval of the regional director, may create new administrative structures and/or

abandon existing structures if doing so will better fulfill the strategic plan for that ministry

area.

2.  As a function of governance, each ministry area, with the consultation and approval of

the regional director, establishes appropriate policies to govern the following processes

and any others necessary for the effective accomplishment of their strategic plan:

a.  Frequency and requirements of governance meetings

b.  Voting rights and procedures, including definition of quorum

c.  Number and selection process of leaders

d.  Purpose, frequency and duration of home assignments

e.  Supervision and accountability relationships

f.  Language and culture study methods

M.  JURISDICTION OVER FIELD MISSIONARIES

The service of all missionaries is under the jurisdiction of the board of directors, who

exercise this jurisdiction through the office of the executive director.  The office of the

executive director delegates jurisdiction to regional directors.

1. Regional directors have direct jurisdiction when:

a.  missionaries are preparing for departure to a ministry area for the first time

b. missionaries are on home assignment

c. missionaries are on a health-care leave

d. ministry area leaders have not been established

e. workable leadership no longer exists in the ministry area

2.  Regional directors delegate jurisdiction to established ministry area leaders when:

a.  missionaries are on assignment in a ministry area

b.  missionaries are on a ministry leave (a temporary leave from the ministry area for

ministry purposes)

c.  missionaries are on a personal leave

N.  EMERGING CHURCHES

1.  Church-Planting Principles

a.  A biblical church is a group of people who have professed faith in Jesus Christ as

their Savior and Lord.  This group best demonstrates the body of Christ when

characterized by the following biblical principles: 

(1). passionate spirituality expressed in worship of God and the proclamation of His

Word

(2).acceptance of responsibility for one another as a family and ministry to each

other in love and humility

(3).vision for reaching the lost for Christ

(4).practice of the biblical ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper

(5). biblically qualified leaders

(6).relationship with other churches

b.  Recognizing the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Church—indwelling believers,

calling leaders, and giving gifts for ministry—missionaries will instruct and encourage

new believers to take increasing responsibility so that emerging churches will

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become self-propagating, self-supporting, self-governing and self-instructing and will

be active in sending out their own missionaries in fulfillment of the Great

Commission.

c.  As responsibility is increasingly assumed by local church leaders, some of whom

may be set apart for full-time Christian service, missionaries will withdraw from

giving direction, pastoral care and teaching.  The missionaries’ goal is to turn these

churches over to national leaders who are able to function without missionary

presence.

2.  Church Fellowships

a.  When entering a new ministry area, TEAM’s preference is to work with already

existing churches or fellowships of churches and to establish partnerships with them.

Where no  compatible churches or fellowships of churches exist, local churches

raised up through the ministry of TEAM will be encouraged to form fellowships for

mutual encouragement, and to promote jointly the welfare of the churches,

evangelism and the establishment of new churches.

b.  Partnership agreements between TEAM and church fellowships should address and

clarify the following issues:  missionary assignment, the practice of the ordinances,

church government, evangelism, church multiplication, ordination of workers,

finances and other matters of mutual concern. 

c. When church leaders in the ministry area follow their own understanding of Scripture

on a matter in which evangelical Christians have differing convictions, such as

church government, baptism or the Lord’s supper, this does not compromise the

integrity of the missionary. In these matters, the practice of the church should be

respected rather than allowing controversy to develop.

O.  FINANCE AND PROPERTY

1.  Financial Support

a.  Missionaries depend on the Lord for the supply of all that is necessary for ministry.

The experience of many years has proven that the Lord makes provision for His

work.

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b.  The board of directors periodically approves a level of support for the ministry of

TEAM-appointed missionaries.  This support includes personal and ministry needs.

No guarantee of remuneration at this level, or of reimbursement for expenses

incurred, is made or implied, except as adequate contributions designated for these

purposes are received.

c.  All contributions given to and receipted by TEAM for the ministry of TEAM

missionaries belong to and are under the complete control of TEAM, in accordance

with government regulations. 

d.  Appointees and returning missionaries are expected to secure promises for support

of TEAM for their ministry before proceeding to the ministry area and to have raised

the funds necessary for outgoing expenses. 

2.  Administration of Funds

a.  TEAM is recognized as a tax-exempt, charitable organization in the United States

and Canada, and contributions to its respective U.S. and Canadian corporations

acknowledged by official receipts may be claimed as deductible for income tax

purposes.

b.  All contributions acknowledged by the official receipt of TEAM are for the

furtherance of TEAM's missionary objectives and must be administered by the

appropriate authority.  (Any missionary receiving a contribution directly from a donor

for ministry or any TEAM-approved project must forward the contribution to the

appropriate TEAM office for the issuing of an official receipt.)

c.  The expressed preferences of any donor for any particular application of funds

contributed to the work of TEAM are respected and carried out as far as feasible.

d.  Missionaries are not permitted to intentionally spend more money than is in their

accounts without written approval of ministry area leaders.  The ministry area team

is not permitted to spend more money than is in their total fund balances without

written approval of the board of directors.

e.  Missionaries must maintain a careful record of the receipt and disbursement of any

TEAM ministry funds.

f.  Any appointee or missionary having received funds for missionary purposes who

withdraws from TEAM prior to the proper expenditure of these funds in the work of

TEAM is expected to make an accounting of the funds to TEAM and return any

unused funds.

g.  Any member of TEAM who raises or receives funds for the purposes of TEAM does

not have any personal equity in those funds.

h.  Personal gifts are transmitted to the missionary in full. A receipt will acknowledge

these gifts, which are not tax deductible. 

i.  Payments in remuneration for missionary service are made to the employee of

record as determined by TEAM.  In the United States, the employee of record is the

husband in the case of a married couple.

  j. Employment may be undertaken in the ministry area if approved by the regional

director or ministry area leaders because it contributes to the ministry area strategic

plan, and on the condition that all income earned be considered mission income and

be used solely in ministry.  In unusual partnership agreements, the regional director

may make exceptions to this condition.

P.  RELATIONSHIP TO GOVERNMENTS

1. Missionaries residing or traveling in a foreign country are guests of that country. They

should give due respect to the legal authorities and people of the country and be subject

to the laws of the country.

2. Missionaries resident in a foreign country should acquaint themselves with any

responsibilities they may have to the Consulate of their home government for

registration, filing of income tax reports or other matters.   Ministry area leaders should

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also establish contact with appropriate consul officials, such as the district security

officer, with whom TEAM may have to work in a crisis situation. 

3. Individual missionaries should not negotiate with an agency of any government or make

a request on behalf of TEAM without the authorization of the ministry area leaders. Only

under extreme circumstances should TEAM leaders authorize a request to a consulate

to influence or pressure  local government officials.

Q.  POLICY CREATION AND REVIEW

1.  Mission-wide policies are contained in a policy manual available to all TEAM

missionaries.  An updated index of current policies is published periodically.  

2.  New policy or changes to existing policy must use the following process to be created or

reviewed if a) they affect TEAM globally, b) they are initiated by TEAM headquarters and

influence or affect any TEAM missionary, or c) they affect more than one function (i.e.

mobilization, field ministries or operations). (See section F.2.)

a.  Any active missionary or staff member may propose new policy or request a review

of existing policy.

b.  Proposed policy or policy changes move through appropriate management

structures until they reach cabinet. 

c.  As policy moves through the approval process, each successive person or group

may add any recommendation to it but must pass the suggested policy along as it

was initiated.

d.  Cabinet reviews suggested policy or policy change, deciding to adopt, modify, study

or discard the policy.  The cabinet will advise the originator of the policy of their

decision.

e.  If the cabinet decides to adopt a policy, they submit the new or changed policy to a

review process by some combination of administrative staff members and/or active

missionaries whom the new policy or policy change will affect. 

f.  After the review process, cabinet modifies the policy as necessary and decides if it

will be passed to the board for approval or if the cabinet will act and inform the board

of directors.

g.  Policy is put into effect at a date following its publication.  At that time the title of the

policy is added to the “index to policy” as a supplement to the guiding principles, and

the policy is added to the official policy manual. 

R.  AMENDMENTS

The board of directors may amend these guiding principles whenever deemed necessary by

the board, provided that they solicit comments from all ex-officio TEAM members (See

Article IV.2 of the constitution) in advance of the meeting of the board at which they are to

be considered. 

1

Ex-officio means “by virtue of office”