Creating a shared vision

When working with a ministry team, a shared vision is very important.  When there is no shared vision, the team falls apart or does not work well together.  The last two years of my 20 plus years of ministry, I have been trying a different approach to this issue.  I could not find a chairperson for the children's ministry team so I decided to chair it myself for a year.  I decided to begin each meeting with check-in time like it was a small group and then spend 20-30 minutes in bible talk.  I use the mutual invitation method created by Eric Law so that everyone gets a chance to speak and everyone is invited for the check in and the bible talk.
For the bible talk, I use part of the gospel text for Sunday.  I begin by reading the bible text and then asking "What word, phrase or idea stood out for you when this passage was read?"  We all share on that, even the children that are on the team.  Then I read it again and ask, "What is God calling you to do, be or change through this passage?"  Sometimes I do not use the second question if the group is bigger than six or there is a lot of conversation around the first question.
To my amazement, we still get all out work done, we are laughing a lot more, and the team has really gelled.  Through the check in time and the bible talk, the team members seem to have a better sense of what is important to each of us and where we want to see our ministry go. Decisions are made quicker and more people volunteer for the tasks to be done.  We only meet for 90 minutes and spend 30 minutes doing the opening conversations but yet all the work is getting done.
I think that we are learning what values we hold in common, what passions and skills we bring to the table, and how to work together.  This has caused a large shift in my understanding of how a team works.