Whenever I talk with men’s ministry leaders, one of the questions that almost always comes up is, “How many men are in your men’s ministry?” Leaders will respond with numbers like ten, or fifty, or however many men show up for their men’s groups or men’s events. But I want to encourage you to think bigger than this.
It Includes Every Man Who Is Part Of Your Church Community
First, your men’s ministry is every man who is part of your church community. Ministry is not dependent on if a man attends a formal event or gathering. Ministry can happen anytime two people cross paths with each other. Every conversation you have with another man in your church, every article or video a man from your church reads or views, is a moment of depositing into his life.
Your men’s ministry is every man who is part of your church community.
It Includes Every Man That Every Man Knows
But your men’s ministry is not only every man who is already part of your church.
Your men’s ministry includes every man that every man from your church knows.
In Matthew 28:19, 20, Jesus gives us the Great Commission. In this command, he tells us a couple of important things. First, he says to “Go into all the world.” This phrase literally means “as you are going.” Jesus wants us to seek first his mission as we are going about every responsibility and relationship we have in life. Second, he says that to make disciples means to teach people to observe and obey all that Jesus has taught us – which would include going into all the world and making disciples. You see, ministry was never designed to only be about the moment of gathering in a group. Ministry was always designed to result in people trusting and following Jesus in the real world of everyday life. This all means that your men’s ministry also includes every man that your men will connect with.
We are involved in the discipleship of people who are not actually part of our church
One of the realities I believe the church is going to need to come to grips with is that we are involved in the discipleship of people who are not actually part of our church. Sometimes, they are also part of other churches. Certainly, they are people who are in the community and may not attend a church. Let me say that again: Leaders must come to grips with the reality that we are involved in the discipleship of people who are not actually part of our church.
Why do I say that?
- This has always been the case – we just didn’t recognize it. When men from other churches would show up at your men’s breakfast or join one of your men’s groups, you are involved in their discipleship even though they aren’t part of your church.
- The rise of online ministry means people are getting teaching and connections from multiple sources all the time.
The Challenges And Opportunities
This reality presents some challenges and opportunities for leaders. The challenge is for us to respect that men are coming from different places, and we have no spiritual authority over their life. God gives spiritual authority to church leaders to “watch over the souls” of their people.
So, while we are depositing good things into people’s lives, we have to respect that their accountability should be to someone else.
The opportunity it presents, though, is to experience the power of being part of the Body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12, we are taught that no part of the body can say they don’t need another part. In reality, we are all to work together to be the hands and feet of accomplishing the mission of Jesus. When we all use the gifts God has given to us in order to invest in the lives of other people, and when we do it in love, the Body gets built up and strengthened.
You see, your men’s ministry is far bigger than you ever realized. It is every man in your church, it is other men from other churches, and it is every man that every man from your church knows.
It is so important for men’s ministry leaders to be networked with other men’s ministry leaders in their community or region.
This is one of the reasons why I believe it is so important for men’s ministry leaders to be networked with other men’s ministry leaders in their community or region. It provides an environment where you can learn from each other, support each other in the shared mission you have, pray together, and also work together to build up men since you are essentially reaching the same men anyways.
We have created men’s ministry networks to help facilitate this kind of unity and cooperation between leaders. Visit the men’s ministry section to learn more about joining or starting a men’s ministry network in your community.
If you only have a few men in your immediate circle, do not get discouraged. God is using everything you deposit into men’s lives far beyond what you can imagine or even see at this moment.
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