A Story: Prayer Builds Teams

I remember one moment with a core volunteer that has stayed with me for years. He was walking through some incredibly tough circumstances, having just lost a family member. At the time I wasn’t naturally comfortable asking to pray with people, especially if I already worked closely with them for a long time.

My leadership leaned more relational—encouraging, connecting, checking in—but not often stepping into the spiritual side of caring for my team. Yet, during that season, I felt challenged by God to shift. To not just lead through tasks or conversations, but to actually pour into my team spiritually.

So, with some hesitation, I asked him if I could pray with him. I’ll never forget his response. His eyes lit up—almost surprised, but also encouraged. We prayed together, and in that moment, I sensed the presence of God in a way that was both humbling and powerful. Looking back, that experience marked me.

It showed me that spiritual leadership isn’t just a nice add-on for creative or production teams—it’s foundational. Without it, we risk building a team that’s efficient, perhaps even a rock-star crew, but spiritually unfed.

Production teams are inherently wired to think about tasks. Run sheets, cue lists, gear setups…these are vital, and they keep things running smoothly. But when that’s all we focus on, something critical gets lost. Teams can start to feel like machines instead of ministers. And when the spiritual connection and growth is missing, there is such a high risk of team burnout.

Prayer changes all of it in the best possible way.

Even a short pause to pray together as a team shifts the culture. It re-centers us. It reminds everyone that this work is not ultimately about pulling off a flawless service…it’s about serving God and serving people. That shift from performance to ministry is what gives production its real meaning.

And here’s the awesome thing: regular team prayer doesn’t take long, but its impact is deep. It builds a sense of community. It breathes encouragement into tired souls. It keeps the mission at the center when the details start to take over. Prayer, in the end, is not a distraction from production, it’s what transforms production into ministry.