New Commandment Men's Ministries Blog
By Herb Reese
Those of you who have followed my ministry for the past several years know that I have advocated using teams of men advocated using teams of men to serve widows, single moms, and anyone else in their churches with long term needs.
But while I encourage using teams of men, I do not want people to get the impression that this is the only way to serve these care receivers in the long run. It is simply the best way that I know of given our cultural situation.
Our men’s team ministry model has been implemented in hundreds of churches across America and around the world with great success. There are several reasons why the Lord has blessed it.
Men serving widows and single moms is a long biblical tradition that includes Job, Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, John, the first deacons, and James.
Biblical culture was intimate and personal. Most people lived in small villages and towns, walked everywhere, and saw each other frequently. In contrast, our culture is individualistic, mobile, isolated, and impersonal. Using teams of men who meet and serve their care receivers regularly for years compensates for these weaknesses.
Men’s team ministry is easy to start and easy to maintain over years and even decades.
Men’s team ministry is effective because it is a relational ministry, not just a project ministry. As a result, it provides profound spiritual, social and physical ministry to its care receivers.
Men’s ministry is generally the weakest ministry in many churches, if it exists at all. Using men to serve widows and single moms activates a massive reserve of volunteer energy in the church. Men’s team ministry draws men in from the periphery of the church and engages them in very significant ministry.
Many women have been abused and/or abandoned by men. And many children of single moms lack godly adult male role models. In fact, one in five children in America grow up without a man in the household. Men’s team ministry is a healing balm for hurting and abused women and fatherless children.
Men relate best by doing things together. We love teams, like sports teams and work teams. Why not ministry teams? Doing something practical with other men for someone in need is a primary love language for men.
But having said all of this, I want to emphasize that I don’t care whether churches use teams of men to serve their widowed and single parents. There is nothing in the Bible that says we must use teams of men to serve these people. The model I present to churches is purely pragmatic. It works very well in our particular culture.
What I do care about is that churches love their widowed, single parents, and others with long term needs with the radical love of Christ. That is, churches need to move beyond simply doing kind gestures for these dear saints every now and then and provide consistent and effective relational ministry for them for as long as they need it, which is often years and decades. How churches do this is irrelevant, so long as they do it.
It’s time for churches to take a deep and prolonged look at what it means to love each other genuinely with the love of Christ, especially what that love looks like for the neediest in our congregations. If, after having done that, you decide to use the model I’ve been proposing, that is great. But if you decide to do something entirely different, that is great too. (And let me know what it is that you are doing so I can promote it!)
This post first appeared in New Commandment.org.
Published: April 11, 2026
Updated: August 13, 2026
Teams of four men serving widows, single moms, fatherless children and others with long-term pressing needs in their churches and communities.
