Focus '09 Men's Gathering

I recently attended Focus '09 at Bible World Church, pastored by Rev. Jack Cunningham in Chesapeake, VA. It was awesome, to say the least. Pastor Robert Mitchell and Pastor Robert Eaby did an outstanding job communicating the Word to us. The Spirit of the Lord was so strong as it swept across the audience of united men of faith. Fellowshipping together was powerful. Thank you, Pastor Cunningham and BWC Men's Ministry (lead by Brother Bob Edwards). It was a great blessing to me personally.


Here at Grace we have been in the pre-launching phase of what we are calling "Fusion," a small group ministry. Our purpose is to create a closer community within Grace and minister in a deeper way to our church family. We are going to start with the basics groups: Married Couples, Women, Students, Men and Spanish. I am going to take the lead to begin with our Men's Ministry, simply because I see a big need to have strong spiritual men in our church.


Gearing up for our launch I have read several articles in my research . The following are some excerpts from some of those articles. Enjoy!


Men need a safe environment to avail male friendships.

Men have valuable spiritual gifts to offer the local church.

Men need something worthwhile to do and something meaningful to look forward to.

Men are hungry for God.

Men need authentic brotherhood in Christ.

Men need a spiritual mentor to provide a positive role model.

Men need to be accountable to one another

Men need to take responsibility and deal with personal issues.

Men need to learn how to serve.

Men are searching for significance.


Develop an environment for growth.


Surveying hundreds of men regarding how spiritual formation happens in their lives, a couple of basic principles about their small groups stand out to me.

• Men need safety/confidentiality. There is a sign above the Milwaukee Brewers locker room that reads, "What you hear and see here, stays here." Leaders must cultivate this utterly confidential environment in their groups to ensure that trust is preserved. Trust is very hard to regain when broken.
  
• Men want to be challenged. Men are sick and tired of sitting around talking about sports, the stock market, and the weather. Man after man has stated they want to be challenged to go deep. Leaders must not be bashful about asking for big commitments to vulnerability and deep sharing in their groups. Men want it.
  
• Men love action. A great deal of spiritual growth is going to happen in the field, by participating in the game. By getting them involved in the community – on projects and mission trips –men are put into a place of spiritual dependence and growth.
  
• Make it relevant. Men need help dealing with realities of where they live day to day. They are not generally captivated by the 23 different views of the Second Coming. Sermons and small group material should use illustrations from their world and be applicable to their lives.
  
• Men need encouragement. This world beats men up all day long. Let the small group be a sanctuary, a place of acceptance and encouragement, and they will be fueled to new heights in their walk with Jesus.