That was the theme when staff members from every campus of Houston's First, our three Faith Centers, and Houston's First Deaf Church came together at The Loop Campus on Thu, Feb 16, for Team First – their annual professional and team development event.

During the main sessions, staff members worshiped together as worship leaders from our campuses led them in song. They also had the opportunity to hear campus testimonies from their colleagues at the Cypress, Downtown, and Sienna Campuses. As he led two of the main sessions, Pastor Gregg Matte shared about distractions we face personally, spiritually, and professionally and how focus is the solution to distraction.

Holly Tate, SVP of Growth at Leadr, used her main session to address the challenge of leading multigenerational teams and the importance of recognizing differences among our staff members and volunteers. Leadr is a people development software that Houston’s First staff integrated into their culture in 2022. The software helps users create action items, manage goals, improve meetings, invite feedback, and lead teams.

“I loved being able to celebrate and find out ways to collaborate well with different generations in our staff. We get to reflect the intergenerational diversity of our church and model how to work well together for the glory of God!” explained a staff member.

After lunch, staff members were able to attend two breakout sessions of their choice among four options. Topics included techniques for maximizing internet and email searches (led by IT Director John Gunn), conflict resolution (led by Minister of Counseling Services Adam Mason), social media strategy (led by Dana Davis of Big Vision Advisors), and characteristics of high-performing leaders (led by Holly Tate and Robyn Corcoran of Leadr).

“Our Team First gathering allowed us to FOCUS on investing in our growth as leaders and maximizing our kingdom impact!” says Executive Pastor Dr. Stephen Trammell

"I was so encouraged by our sessions with Pastor Gregg, worshiping together as staff, moments with Dr. Trammell leading with campus pastors and staff members from each campus," shared another staff member. "I left refreshed and felt seen, known and loved on by our leaders."

Pray for Our Staff

Our church family is asked to pray for the staff as they continue to stay focused on what the Lord has in store for the year ahead. Here are a few suggestions:

Pray for staff to set their minds on the things that are above, not on things that are on earth (Colossians 3:2)
Pray for staff to direct their focus on what the Lord has ahead of them (Proverbs 4:25)
Pray for staff to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness (Matthew 6:33)
Pray for staff to continue to live according to the Holy Spirit and set their minds on things of the spirit (Romans 8:5)