I‘ve discussed the seven ways Christian men go about meeting pressing needs in their five circles of responsibility (Those circles of responsibility being themselves, their family, their extended family, their church and their neighbor). The means by which Christian men meet pressing needs are: they develop loving relationships, they work hard, they sacrifice, they use discernment, they advocate, they join together with others, and they trust God.
Now the question is, does this work in the real world? After all, this vision of eradicating need around us seems overwhelming and unrealistic. So are there in fact Christian men who really are meeting the pressing needs in their five circles of responsibility?
When I first began New Commandment Men’s Ministries over twelve years ago with the goal of helping churches develop men’s team ministries to their people with long term needs, my wife asked me, “Why don’t you just write a book about it?”
My response was that I first wanted to prove the practicality of Christian men meeting pressing needs and then write a book about it. I wanted to write from experience and not just present an interesting, but unproven, theory of men’s ministry. I am pleased to say that after twelve years of hard work I can now point to thousands and thousands of Christian men who are indeed meeting the pressing needs in their five circles of responsibility.
Am I Doing This?
The bane of all ministry is that it’s easier to tell people what they should do than it is to actually do it. Therefore, it is critical that I be able to point to my own experience when I talk about meeting pressing needs. Paul charged Timothy to “set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity,” (1 Timothy 4:12). And more than once he set himself up as an example for his readers to follow (Philippians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 11:1). Paul wasn’t bragging when he did this. He was simply showing his readers how to do what he was talking about.
In the same way, I can say that over the past several years I have worked hard at meeting needs in my five circles of responsibility. At times, those needs have seemed overwhelming. But in each case, as I learned to “walk toward liability instead of away from it,” the Lord gave me ways to meet the needs, just as He promised in 2 Corinthians 9:8.
“God is able to make all grace abound to you so that at all times, in every way, you will have all that you need for every good work.”
With regard to the needs of those in the churches I have either been the pastor of or attended, I have served on teams of my own. At various times, my teams have served a widow, a single mom, the wife of a soldier stationed in Iraq, and a divorcee. We have been able to establish consistent and effective ministry over many years. In the process, I have grown close to my team members, had an effective ministry to our care receivers and witnessed for the Lord to the neighbors, relatives and friends of our care receivers. The entire process has been a great personal joy. There are few things I would rather do than spend time with my team serving our care receiver.
The result is that I can personally validate everything when I talk about men’s team ministry, not only from the reports of others, but from my own experience. At the time of this writing I don’t know of a single need going unmet in my five circles of responsibility.
Is My Own Church Doing This?
I attend Crossroads Church, a mid-sized church of 1,500 adults with three campuses in Northglenn, Thornton and Ft. Lupton, Colorado. I head up the men’s team ministry at the church as a volunteer. We started our men’s team ministry twelve years ago with three teams, twelve men and three care receivers. Over the years the ministry has grown to eighteen teams, with sixty-one men serving twenty-six widows, widowers and single parents, plus another seven children. Some teams have been serving their care receiver for over ten years, and the majority for over five years. About a quarter of our care receivers are from outside the church.
We are covering everyone in our church with a team who needs and wants one. There is no one on our waiting list. I believe we can truly say, “There is not a needy person among us.”
As a result, the response has been overwhelming. We have seen God’s blessing on this ministry at Crossroads over and over again. Widows say they are not depressed anymore. The children of single parents have godly role models to follow and wind up establishing godly marriages of their own. Significant financial needs are being met. The men in the ministry have developed close Christian friends. And the teams have a wonderful testimony in the community. My pastor has told me more than once, “I never get any complaints from your ministry.”
Are Other Churches in My Community Doing This?
Besides my own church, men’s team ministry has spread to over half a dozen churches in the Denver area. These churches range in size from a couple of hundred to several thousand. Most of these churches have been doing men’s team ministry for over five years and have had similar results as our church.
Can Different Types of Churches in Different Regions of the Country Do This?
Men’s team ministry has also spread to several hundred churches outside of Colorado. There are churches of all sizes and types with this ministry in every state except Hawaii and Delaware. These churches are in dozens of denominations and represent the broad spectrum of demographic groups.
Is This Practical for Churches in Other Countries?
Not only has men’s team ministry spread across America, it has also been adopted by churches in the following foreign countries: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Latvia, Greece, Nigeria, South Africa and Cayman Islands.
So the question, “But does it work?” can be answered with a resounding “Yes!” It is indeed possible for Christian men to meet the pressing needs in all five of their circles of responsibility and men’s team ministry is one very effective way to do it.
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
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Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom
and fatherless child in your church at NewCommandment.org.
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