Every once in while, your team will come to a spot where it is tested. Giving your team advance notice may help them prepare for the test. Preparing for tests in school is something I dreaded, but being prepared was far better than being surprised on test day.

Following is an acrostic of four tests that your team may encounter. If you get all four of them on one day, you probably have a final exam type of test on your hands.

Tired—Maybe it’s long days, or maybe there are things going on at home causing some long nights. Missed days off and burning the midnight oil all contribute to simple tiredness. When several on the team are tired, the test gets interesting. When tired, simple things that would have never bothered a person now do. Don’t let your team tear itself apart because a few folks need a nap.

End is near—Anytime your team is coming to the end of something it is a test as to whether the team will stay a team right to the very end. The end allows members of your team to begin to focus on other things besides the endeavor of the team. Remind them to stay on the team until the very end. It is a test!

So many changes—One or two changes is fine, but your team will be tested when the changes keep piling up. Nothing is normal anymore, and it seems to take longer to get simple things done. Remind your team that any change is a test of a teams ability to work together.

Tons going on—Most ministries have several things going on at the same time. The more things that are going on simultaneously the easier it is to feel neglected or distrustful of the intentions of other team members. Leaders must work hard at sharing with their team all the things that are going on and give the team a context of how all these seemingly diverse things are all a part of God’s plan. We naturally seem to give the most loyalty to the smallest team we can relate to which often blinds us to the overall team that we are on.

A good leader serves his team by looking ahead and seeing some of the tests about to come. Let your team know what is coming, so they will be better prepared to deal with it.