Hgpf. No, not a typo. This is a word. At one time, it was just an acronym, but somewhere along the way it seems these four letters took on a meaning all their own. Humble, gentle, patient, and forbearing. These are the words that Hgpf represents. Embracing them helps develop a team mentality. Brad came up with the super catchy acronym back in the day, but I still think he just threw it out there after trying for hours to come up with something catchy using thesaurus.com. Either way, team building is a huge part of the iGo experience. It always has been.

We place students on teams with other students and send them to make Him famous among unreached people groups. In many cases, these teams will spend inordinate amounts of time together as they serve alongside each other day after day while experiencing the challenges of culture shock, spiritual warfare, and fatigue. Their ability to function as a unified team is so important. Jesus said that when we are unified, we show the world that Jesus is the Son of God and that He loves them (John 17:23). Wow. Team unity is tied (like everything else) to the bottom line. When our teams function together and demonstrate Hgpf with each other, they bring glory to Jesus. And so we teach it, pray for it, and try to demonstrate it no matter how ridiculous it sounds when we say it. Bring the Hgpf.

As this countdown nears the end, I have realized how much I have enjoyed looking back at these ten years. We have journeyed with some great students, and those great students have formed great teams. 2009 was no different. But thinking about all our teams has made me think about the core of the iGo team.

I had absolutely no idea ten years ago that God was going to give me a team to lead at iGo. When you start something from scratch there are too many doubts about the future to think about asking anyone else to get in a boat that may or may not be sinking.

There is no way iGo would be celebrating ten years if it weren’t for the team that serves here. It is the team around me that makes this happen, but they aren’t my team. They are His. I still haven’t recruited a staff member. I have never asked for resumes. No ads on monster.com. But He has faithfully led people to our team to play a specific role, many times before I knew we needed that role played. Some of them came and served for a time and then moved on, but their contribution was vital. This truly is a team effort.

You probably know this, but I want to make sure. Our staff raises their own support to work here. God calls them to join us, and then he provides through support raising. Some of them sacrifice on a daily basis because they believe so much in the ministry and vision of iGo. I am humbled, amazed, and blessed to get to lead a group of people like that. They do their jobs with excellence not because of a paycheck and definitely not for the benefits (free T-shirts?). They serve because of their calling, passion, and commitment. Thanks team!

So here is my challenge (to whomever might be reading along).

2009 was another great year. There are some good pictures on Facebook already from that summer. Make a comment on them. Tag someone. Start a conversation. Join the celebration. We are less than a week away from the 10 Year Celebration Banquet.

To attend the banquet this Saturday, October 23, register here: 2010 iGo Global Celebration Banquet