From time to time I’m asked if I know of any men’s team ministries that have partnered with another church. To date, I don’t know of any. But I do have a few thoughts about it.
First, and most importantly:
Always work with and through your pastor and church leadership before broaching the idea of combining your men’s team ministry with one from another church.
Churches are territorial, for both good and bad reasons. Therefore, it is critical that any discussion of combining men’s team ministries from two or more churches be initiated by the pastors and/or staff of those churches. You can’t work from the bottom up on this. You don’t want to create a vision for men from multiple churches that is not shared by the leadership of those churches.
Instead, you have to work from the top down and see how the Spirit leads in the hearts of the pastors. Talk to your pastor or men’s ministry leader first and see if they are interested in contacting the leadership in other churches. If your pastor and other pastors don’t feel led at the moment to do such a ministry, please accept that as the Lord’s will at this time.
Here’s another concern I have.
Combining two or more healthy men’s team ministries from different churches will probably just create more complexity.
At the heart of men’s team ministry is its simple structure. We are aiming for consistent, effective ministry to their widowed and single parents over years and decades. Combining men’s team ministries from multiple churches means you are dealing with pastors, staff and boards from multiple churches. A situation like this could soon become unmanageable.
On the other had, there may be genuine opportunities for a men’s team ministry to work with another church.
Consider adopting a church with a high ratio of potential care receivers to available men.
If your men’s team ministry is covering everyone in your church who needs and wants a team, congratulations! You have come a long way toward being able to say, “There is not a needy person among us.” Now it’s time to start looking outside you own congregation, maybe into your immediate community or perhaps to churches in your region that are unable to meet their own needs.
I’m thinking here especially of inner city churches and/or older churches. Many of these churches tend to have a very high ratio of widows and single mothers to men who can serve them. Ask your pastor if he would be willing to contact the pastor of an inner city/older church to see if they have any widowed and single parents your teams can serve.
Something that excites me about this scenario is the potential for cross cultural and interracial ministry. Here in America, despite decades of effort, we still live in a highly segregated culture. A team of white men showing up at the home of an African American or Hispanic widow or single mother to serve her month after month can initiate some genuine racial healing and provide a dramatic demonstration of the love of Christ.
I have personally experienced this kind of situation and it had a dramatic impact on my own life. (I’ll write more about this experience at another time.) I’m sure it will have the same impact in the lives of other men and their care receivers.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Is your men’s team ministry at the point where it is serving care receivers from outside the church? Have you given any thought to serving their widowed and single parents from an inner city church/older church?
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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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