Who is the most important player on a football team? Is it the quarterback? He usually pulls in the biggest salary. Maybe it’s the kicker. He’s often the leading scorer in the game. Then again, if it weren’t for the 300-pound monsters on the defensive line, neither quarterback nor kicker could to do their jobs. Though we tend to view a few select players as the superstars, the reality is that they would be nothing without a team around them.

For many decades when it came to cross-cultural ministry, the Western missionary was viewed as the most important player — the superstar. He was the one with the training, the experience and the resources. He was sometimes the quarterback, the running-back, the wide-receiver, the defensive tackle and the place-kicker rolled into one. Sometimes this was born out of necessity, sometimes simply out of poor missiology.

Today perhaps more than ever before, we are realizing that our best role as Westerners is often a secondary one — coming alongside the existing church as a servant and a resource to help them achieve their goals, rather than ours. In a sense, we have moved from player to coach. And that’s a good thing.

It could be argued that the most important player on the team is not a player, but the coach. Good coaching makes good players better. It helps great players realize their full potential. And it wins games. That’s why when a team is losing, the coach is often the first one replaced.

Yes, having a good coach is important: The global church needs our workers. But even more, they need the whole team, and that includes you. You don’t have to be the coach; you don’t even have to be the quarterback. You just have to be in the game. Thanks for the part you play in bringing God’s love to life around the world.