I walked in a coffee shop to meet with my leaders, and we sat down together to reflect on the past month. After talking for awhile, they awkwardly paused and looked at each other with smirks and smiles. Confused, I asked, “Okay, what is going on here? Why are you all being awkward?” Then they got more serious, and told me all the ways that they believed in me. Wondering where they were going with this conversation, I shifted in my seat to listen. They finally said, ” We would like to invite you to be raised up as a squad leader.”
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Now, before I go any further, I want to explain what this means. When I signed up for the World Race, I quickly realized I would adapt to a whole new lingo. I heard words like squad, team, debrief, feedback, LDW, squad leader, team leader, UH, ATL, etc., and I had NO IDEA what any of it meant. Now, being on the race, I finally know the context behind these words, the way the race is organized, and the standards that are set in place. However, I know it is still confusing for those of you at home joining this journey with me. So, I want to explain a big change that is happening for me, and fully break it down so that you are all aware of what the next few months will look like.
When I started the race in October, I joined a squad of 43 beautiful people who are all passionate about the Lord and desire to spread His love with the nations. Those 43 people were then broken into seven teams of six people, spreading out all over the country to work with individual ministry hosts partnering with them to serve in any way possible.
Besides the 43 racers, we also had 3 squad leaders joining us throughout the year – Anna, Hannah, & Hunter. These three have already previously been on the World Race before joining ours. They have already served in 11 different countries on their own squads, learning and growing in their relationship with the Lord, and then returning home in the states. But all 3 of them felt the calling and the push to come BACK on the World Race, and pass down all their learned knowledge and wisdom to another squad who is doing the race for the first time.
Anna, Hannah, & Hunter remain on the field for the first 5 months of our World Race experience. They do not join a particular team for those entire 5 months, but instead they travel from team to team to team. They join several different teams, coming alongside of us racers to encourage and challenge us. They have been an incredible blessing from the Lord, and I don’t know where our squad would be without them. They consistently direct us back to Jesus, and encourage us to seek him in every place that we are in. They have become close friends of mine and I am so sad to see them go home.
Because they are only joining our squad for the first 5 months (October – February), they were asked to select 3 racers on the squad to fill in their place. I was hesitant to accept, but felt the Lord telling me to say yes and to trust what he has in store for the rest of this year. They asked Daniel, Victoria, and I to fill some very large shoes and carry out the rest of the year as the raised up squad leaders.
The three of us are nervous, excited, humbled – all the feelings wrapped in one! Our race is going to look a little different than it did before. You all may be wondering exactly what we will be doing with each team and throughout each month, so I’ll add some Q&A below to answer some questions. Feel free though to comment with any other questions you may have!:)
Q & A
What is a squad leader responsible for?
A squad leader will spend one month with each team, walking alongside of them to encourage and bring all situations to the Lord. They will cast vision for the squad, planning debriefs at the end of certain months as well as leadership development weekends. They will check in with all team leaders, logistic members, and treasurers to ensure a healthy community is being lived out in every team and every person. They will communicate often with the squad mentor (who works in the office in Georgia but makes visits out on the field sporadically).
Will we still do ministry throughout the rest of the year?
Yes, all squad leaders will still do ministry working with whatever team they are assigned to for that month. A lot of their attention will be directed towards the team they are with, having 1-on-1 conversations to check in with each member of the team, but will also be a part of the ministry they are working with.
When do we start visiting with the first team?
The whole month of February is a month of training for the new raised up squad leaders. We have sessions and trainings with the current alumni squad leaders and our mentor. We will also be shadowing them this month as we travel to 2 different teams. After this month, the alumni squad leaders go back to the states, and the raised up squad leaders will begin joining one of the teams. We will then switch to a new team the next month.
Do we have to be a squad leader next year and join a new squad launching for the World Race?
Nope! Our alumni squad leaders (Anna, Hannah, & Hunter) really felt the Lord urging them to apply and join another World Race squad after already completing their own race. The new raised up squad leaders (Daniel, Victoria, & I) were asked to fill this role only for the rest of our 11 months. There is no commitment after that.
Ask away if you have any more questions, but we would surely appreciate all of your prayers as we shift into this next season of the race and of life. Very excited for all the Lord has in store
