Everyone naturally has questions about men’s team ministry to the widowed and single parents. Here are the ones that come up most frequently.
Should we limit this ministry to just the widowed and single parents?
No. The Bible uses broad categories like the oppressed, the weak, etc. These include widows and single moms, but might also include widowers, single dads, the disabled, divorcees, and single people in general. What your church should do, though, is prioritize the groups it wants to minister to and work down.
Why use men only?
This type of ministry is particularly well suited for men. Men are task oriented and relate well with each other while doing things together. It also seems more appropriate to have just men in teams, since they will be spending a lot of time together over the months and years. Men work best with widows and single moms who have their own homes and cars, things they can work on. Women in retirement homes and with no cars seem to be ministered to best by other women.
How do we choose and prioritize care receivers?
The pastor and other appropriate staff members should determine who receives a team. While the criteria used to chose care receivers varies, in general, we encourage churches to have a balance between people who are destitute and people who are socially isolated, but may be financially stable.
Is New Commandment Men’s Ministries a franchise ministry?
No. New Commandment Men’s Ministries is not a franchise ministry. There are no membership requirements or annual dues. Nor are churches required to use our material. We are simply providing a model for churches to use any way they wish. Churches can modify it according to their own needs and they can call their ministry anything they want.
Wont this ministry encourage inappropriate relationships between men and women?
No, men’s team ministry does just the opposite. It teaches men that there is a type of love that has nothing to do with sex, and its called righteousness. Because we use teams of men and train them to show compassion, commitment, service and sacrifice to women from within that context, the men come to realize that there is a type of nonsexual love that is extremely fulfilling. Paul talks about this love in Romans six when he says that as we present ourselves to God, and the members of our body as instruments of righteousness, we become slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:11-18). This explains why men who get involved in this type of ministry become so passionate about it and why, in the many years we have done this ministry, there have been no inappropriate relationships.
Why only once a month?
The specific plan that is presented here is only a working model. It has worked in many churches of different sizes, demographics, and locations. Your church should do what works best for it. The important thing is not to burn your men out with large projects and frequent meetings. Emphasize the long haul. We have found that serving a care receiver once a month over months and years is more than adequate to communicate committed love.
Are there other churches doing this?
New Commandment has helped about 1,000 churches in dozens of denominations, all 50 states and 8 foreign countries start this ministry.
What about people in need outside the church?
Scripture tells us to emphasize needy people within the church first, followed by those outside the church. But having focused first on those in your church, you will find that over time there will be many opportunities to take men’s team ministry to people in your community.
Are there security issues?
It is the church’s responsibility to guarantee the safety of the care receivers the men are working with. Background checks should be done on all men participating in this ministry. This requirement should be worked out with the church leadership in a policy statement that is strictly followed.
What about financing the projects?
First, we ask the care receiver to provide money for the material. Sometimes, he or she does not have it. If that is the case, for small projects, we ask the team members to chip in. Sometimes relatives of the care receiver help out. If the projects are larger, charities or government agencies should be researched. Ultimately the church leadership can be approached and asked to consider the need.
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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