“…and Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”— Matthew 4:19

At CDM, we believe that men’s ministry is vital to the overall health of your church. When Jesus called the disciples to be “fishers of men,” He was calling them to model ministry after His example. Christ’s ministry was highly relational as well as instructive. Jesus didn’t just tell His followers how to live. He showed them how to live by walking the road they walked and breaking bread with them. Jesus modeled a life of obedience and sacrifice that glorified God, and that is what we want to point the men in our churches toward.

Today, the men in our culture are struggling to know what it means to be a Christian, a husband, a father, a businessman…and how to live their faith in every day life. As we seek to be “fishers of men,” we need to reach out to them at their point of need and lead them to a deeper understanding of who they are in Christ.  When men are growing in their knowledge of Christ and the power of His grace, there is a great benefit to the Church and the broader culture. Marriages grow stronger. Families are blessed. Businesses and ministries make a positive impact on the community.

As a committee of the PCA, CDM (Committee on Discipleship Ministries) serves churches by connecting them to the people and resources they need for fruitful discipleship ministries based on God’s Word in Christ-centered relationships.  We are excited about a new ministry initiative for ministry to your men. Please view the video below to hear about a 10-month, cohort opportunity that will begin this summer.

ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS

We will help you find the answers to your questions about Men’s Ministry. Feel free to call or e-mail us and tell us about your church. At CDM, we are committed to helping you find the answers you need. Here are some we frequently hear:

CDM has resources that can help you engage and encourage the men in your church.

We have also partnered with Gary Yagel, a men’s ministry consultant for Forging the Bonds of Brotherhood Ministry.  He offers our churches a free initial call to discuss the unique needs of your church. The call allows you to evaluate your current men’s ministry and help you identify strategies for developing leaders and increasing involvement. Gary is passionate about igniting men to action by working with existing ministries in your church. We recommend his website Forging Bonds as  a great place for additional resources to help your church minister to its men.

To schedule your call, email Gary at: gyagel@forgingbonds.org.

Surveys Conducted Among Christian Men Reveal Where They Want Spiritual Help:

  1. With their marriages—the number one request on men’s surveys.
  2. Battling sexual temptation—the temptation men struggle with most.
  3. Better managing their time—sticking to the right priorities and being consistent in the spiritual disciplines.
  4. Being the spiritual leader in their homes—knowing how to meet their wives needs how to disciple their kids.
  5. Seeing their job as a calling from God and receiving Biblical wisdom for tough, job-related issues.
  6. Being more faithful in outreach to the lost. Most men feel like spiritual failures because they are doing little to share their faith.
  7. Finding a brother for friendship, encouragement, and accountability.
  8. Getting control of their anger and becoming more patient.
  9. Investing their lives not just for success, but for significance.
  10. Knowing how to satisfy their hearts more by delighting in God.

The root need of every man is satisfying his soul more in Christ. But as he sees the biblical answers to the above felt needs, the result is that his walk with Christ is energized.

  • Be clear about the target—every man connected to a few brothers who are helping him fight his spiritual battles. Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  Eccl. 4:12
  • Continually convey this truth to men: God doesn’t want you fighting your spiritual battles alone. 
  • Communicate this message through:  1) church leaders who model having an accountability partner themselves, 2) giving men who have such brotherhood connections the opportunity to tell their story, 3) directly challenging men—“We want every man in our church connected to some brothers who are praying for his inner battles.”
  • By strategically using every men’s event in the church to help deepen their relationships.
  • By considering many paradigms for connection—men’s Sunday school classes, men’s bible studies, Jonathan and David connections for breakfast, lunch, or weekly phone call, mentoring relationships, etc.

  • God has assigned men a strategic position of influence in the covenant family, church, and community.
  • A strong discipleship ministry for men results in spiritually stronger men, which leads to spiritually stronger families and churches, which glorifies Christ.
  • Jesus built his church by discipling men.

Men’s Ministry is often the front door to Men’s Discipleship. In some churches, these terms are interchangeable because Men’s Discipleship is Men’s Ministry, however not every Men’s Ministry is discipleship.

Men’s Discipleship has two primary goals.

  1. DEEPER CONNECTION IN THE BODY:  Helping men build friendships with other men for encouragement and accountability (the body building itself up in love)
  2. DEEPER OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST’S COMMANDS:  Providing biblical teaching for men that is specific to their temptations and responsibilities as men (discussing the truth in love)

Begin with fun and fellowship as an appetizer, but your men’s ministry should always seek to uncover their deeper spiritual hunger.

Men’s ministry seeks to develop mature disciples of Christ in the context of relationship. Keep in mind:

  • It takes time for males to bond. They don’t go from 0 to 60 instantly.
  • Men tend to build relationships shoulder to shoulder, so recreational and service opportunities are a means to helping men connect as well as use their gifts.
  • Small group discussion at seminars and on retreats also help men connect.

It is helpful to think of these activities as part of the process of helping men move down the discipleship path towards deeper connection with some brothers.

  • Church loyalty is at an all-time low in our culture while working hours and commute time are at an all-time high. Therefore, men don’t show up just because the bulletin says a men’s event is planned.
  • Men are less likely than teens, singles, children, and women, to attend an event just to be with their friends. They may know they need connection, but being friends with some guys at church is not very high on most men’s priority list.
  • Many men already feel guilty about being away from home so much to do their jobs. So, we have to overcome the guilt and pressure he feels not to be away from the family more.
  • The availability of graphic pornography means that more men are enslaved to secret sins than ever before. Fearing that their wives or children might find out, they may participate in something safe like a church softball team or work project, but will avoid events that connect them to other men at the spiritual level.

  • Make the event too valuable for men to miss. Find out what is most valuable to your men.
  • Do fewer events but do them well.
  • Get ownership of the event by engaging the men’s ministry team and key influencers in the planning and conducting of the event.
  • Don’t plan or expect every event to appeal to every man. Niche plan and market. One group of guys may want to meet at a pub and discuss a book. Another group might have a before-work bible study. Another group may love cycling together. Promote all three groups and challenge them to help their men support each other in their spiritual battles.
  • Get your leadership team to personally invite men to events and pick them up.

Here are five discipleship programs that over ten PCA churches have used:

  • Journey Groups  Basic training. Groups of about 5 by gender, are leader-led, 3 year curriculum from, By PCA TE Randy Pope, Perimeter Church
  • Men’s Fraternity weekly DVD’s with table discussion. Begins with wounds to the masculine heart, 3 year curriculum including the topic of “Winning at Home,” Robert Lewis
  • Man In the Mirror  numerous books, DVD’s, seminars, free podcast studies on nearly every men’s issue, Pat Morley
  • The Masculine Mandate  A book used for small group study on the call to biblical manhood By PCA TE Rick Phillips
  • Forging Bonds of Brotherhood  A 60 page book used for small group study to help a beginning or existing study build trust and move towards sharing spiritual battles more, PCA TE Gary Yagel

See our “Resources You Should Know” section for more ministries, seminars, and tools organized by topic.

RESOURCES

Visit our Men’s Ministry Resources page, which includes resources on Certification, Training, Group Resources, Marriage and Fatherhood, etc.

MEN’S MINISTRY LEADERSHIP

Dustin Belue

Men’s Ministry Consultant, CDM Partner

Dustin is Assistant to the Pastor at Grace Community Church, where he oversees several areas in the life of the church. Along with leading the Men’s Ministry team at Grace, he guides small groups and Sunday morning Bible studies. He also leads a Young Professionals ministry within the church. He has a great desire to help young men, especially in their 20’s-30’s, to grow as disciples of Christ and nurture an affection for and commitment to the local church. Before coming to Grace, Dustin served in campus ministry discipling college men for nine years and worked with the young families and young adults at Perimeter Church in Atlanta, GA. He is an ordained pastor in the PCA with an MDiv from RTS Atlanta.

He and his wife Bethany have two children, Patterson and Neely, who make life full and sweet. In his free time, he enjoys watching college football in the fall (especially Alabama), reading, working out, and exploring new places with his wife and kids.

dustin@gracemobile.org

Scott Mawhinney

Sarasota, FL

Scott is pastor laboring together on the Life-on-Life Ministry team of Perimeter Church. Scott and his bride, Janna, have five children: Michael, Levi, Gracie, Hope and John Luke. Scott is passionate about making mature and equipped followers of Jesus, as fueled by the Gospel. Scott has a Master of Divinity from RTS Orlando and is a Certified Professional Life and LeadershipCoach through Professional Christian Coaching Institute. When not working, you can find Scott playing golf, fishing, watching sports and enjoying Janna and their children.

scottm@lifeonlife.org

Monte Starkes

Nolensville, TN

Monte has a passion for Jesus and His method for transformation. He has a Doctorate in Discipleship from Talbot School of Theology, along with M.Div. and M.T.S. degrees from Beeson Divinity School. Monte has been discipling men for over 33 years, and has seen men multiply and make disciples and disciple makers in six continents. His doctoral dissertation was on fathers discipling their sons to become godly men. He wrote Expedition, a curriculum to assist fathers in discipling their sons’ hearts and lives. He was a missionary in Japan, and has been a pastor at churches in Atlanta, Birmingham, and Gainesville, GA. He is Executive Pastor at Southpointe Community Church.

Monte and his wife Amy have four children: Luke, married to Macy, is an insurance broker in Atlanta; Charity is married to Nick and is a P.A. in Augusta; Philip at Georgia Southern Univ. in Savannah;  and Anna Grace is the church receptionist at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Lakeland, FL. Monte loves to read books, exercise, cheer on the Atlanta Braves, and spend time with his family.

monte@southpointecommunity.org

Bobby Suh

Centreville, VA

Bobby is the Community Life and Discipleship Pastor at Christ Central Presbyterian Church and an associate for Life on Life Ministries. He has been discipling men for over 20 years and has a passion to see the church become healthier through the formation of mature and equipped followers of Christ through discipleship. He spends most of his time dreaming about and implementing ways to make the 2nd and 3rd generation of Korean American churches and pastors healthier… for their flourishing.

Pastor Bobby is a graduate of University of Virginia and attended Reformed Theological Seminary. He is a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). He and his wife Borami have a shared passion for the Gospel and helping others become healthy and have healthy marriages.  They have 3 beautiful strong independent daughters. Aside from the day to day responsibilities Pastor Bobby enjoys movies, all things specialty coffee, and the occasional round of golf with good friends.

bobby.suh@christcentralpc.org