“I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.”
Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭19-30‬ ESV

Three separate men. Three children from three different families, brought up in three different homes. Three people with different gifts, different ages and different backgrounds.

One team. One purpose. One mind.

Paul would have never lasted as long as he did or made through as many scrapes and tight spots as he did had he been traveling and ministering alone. Timothy would have never grown up into a formidable minister of the Gospel if he hadn’t learned under Paul’s direct tutelage. Epaphroditus probably wouldn’t have become a missionary if Paul was a solo act.

But they worked and served together. Over and over again, they worked and served together. They fought for the Gospel, ministered to the sick and lonely and planted new churches together wherever they went. They took care of each other, in good times & bad, in their own times of sickness and fear, and they knew that this relationship as ministers of he Gospel of Christ was something that required humility and teamwork. Not in a corny, inspirational poster kind of way, but in a legitimate sense. They bonded through their joy and suffering and in the work they did for Christ.

You and I are meant to do the same. We serve daily wherever it is that God has planted us, and we pray for each other in these endeavors. Then we come together each week as we worship and serve and share Christ’s love with one another as we lift each other up and encourage each other to go and do it again, week after week. We pray for each other, encourage each other, humbly putting each other above ourselves. We seek Christ above all, and we minister to each other as we seek to share the good news of the Gospel with those who do not yet know the grace and mercy that God has offered through Christ.

It’s never about any name but the Name of Christ. It’s never about any individual except God. It’s never about any plan, any vision, any purpose, unless it is the one that God provides. There is no “I” in team as we seek to promote the Gospel and share grace. There is one “I AM” that guides and unifies us under His banner, and it is His love that compels us to GoLove, forgetting self and lifting up others in the humility of unconditional love.