As just about everyone who reads this blog knows, my ministry trains men to show the love of Christ to the widowed, single parents, and others with long term needs in their church and community. We do this by forming men into teams and assigning each team to serve a care receiver for months and years. The goal is for their church to be able to say, “There is not a needy person among us.”
But I want to stress something: men’s ministry is more than just men’s team ministry to the widowed and single parents. Your church may have a men’s team ministry, but nothing else for your men. If so, please think and pray about expanding your men’s ministry into other areas. Here is why.
Your men need to be discipled.
Christian men need to be grounded in the Word, establish a consistent walk with the Lord, practice spiritual disciplines, and have plenty of godly male role models in their life. A well rounded men’s ministry will provide the necessary resources to accomplish this.
Your men have felt needs that should be addressed.
Many Christian men struggle with interior issues, such as insecurity about their salvation, low self esteem, anger, guilt, fear, sexual issues like pornography, a host of addictions, and much more. A wise men’s ministry leader will understand and address these issues with his men.
Your men live in an increasingly hostile culture.
They need to be given intellectual tools so they can stand on their own as strong Christian men and “give a reason for the hope that is in them.”
Your men are at a certain station in life and need help applying their faith to those particular circumstances.
The New Testament has a number of “station-in-life” passages that address men as sons, men as husbands, men as fathers, men as employees, men in their older years, men in their younger years. Christianity has implications for all of these situations. Marriage and family issues, especially, should be addressed at length.
Your men need to go deeper in their relationships with other Christian men.
Men’s team ministry is a relational ministry. It stresses relationships within the team itself and between the team and its care receiver. But simply doing projects together for a couple of hours a month will not build deep relationships. Men need to talk with other men about their issues. To do this, men have to spend time with other men in different types of contexts.
Your men need to serve the church in other areas too.
All churches need godly male leadership and godly male servants who help the church function normally on a day to day basis. A solid men’s ministry will provide the church with this kind of mature Christian man.
So men’s team ministry is not the sum total of men’s ministry by far. But having said that, I also want to stress that men serving their widowed and single parents should be an important part of any men’s ministry. If it doesn’t have that kind of serving component in it, please consider checking out our resources at NewCommandment.org.
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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2 thoughts on “Men’s Team Ministry is Not the Be-All and End-All of Men’s Ministry”
Hi Pastor Herb! We’re focusing on the “discipleship” too, and our Pastor recommended a book by Robby Gallaty titled “Growing Up”. We’re using this book as a baseline for men that want to disciple other men. (Certainly not the only book out there on discipleship, but you’ll love this writer/Pastor’s approach!) Many of our Life Groups are going through this as well (including mine). Hope this finds you and Patty well, Take care, In Christ, Jim
Hi, Jim. Thanks for recommending the “Growing Up” book. I’ll check into it. It looks interesting.
Love you, brother.
Herb