ONE Church Men’s Ministry
Firstly I believe there is a real need for us as Christian men to help grow the church of today and invest in the church of tomorrow. I also believe that in order to do this there is an urgent need to come together to strengthen each other, encourage one other, to challenge and hold each other to account. As men we can hide behind our exteriors, carry burdens we are not designed to and when in times of spiritual isolation we can be easy prey to addictions, depression and temptations. And yet as blokes we can also hold the key to the spread of the gospel in this land. Statistically, good research still shows that in the vast (and I mean vast!) majority of cases where a family man finds faith in Christ, his family follows. Who will reach those men other than us?
I am also a great believer in us being far greater than the sum of our parts when we come together.
As it says in Proverbs 27:17 "as iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”
A good overview is available here through the Christian vision for men (CVM) website. There are some excellent resources and daily blogs to keep you all connected and I recommend checking it out!
We should be developing our individual ministries - finding out what makes us tick but also recognizing the gifts in ourselves and others in order to grow. We need to learn how to pray effectively for our mates (how do we do that?) and those we meet and how to learn to live out lives that are befitting our status as sons of the King.
This lifestyle comes from honest self-reflection and breaking the hold of other influences over our lives - achieved largely by allowing others to speak truth over us. We could be leading on social justice and serving our communities. We should also take strength from our brothers in Christ, be willing to serve each other and come alongside those who need us. And specifically we need to strive together to be better sons, fathers, brothers, husbands, boyfriends or mates.
During this unusual season of isolation, I will try and set a series of challenges for us principally so we find a sense of community with our Christian brothers knowing we are all in the same position of social distancing. Unusually however we all have a unique opportunity to get ourselves ready for a new season so I will pray that we all find the time and the desire to go deeper in God.
God bless you.
Neil Maceachenneil@onechurchdover.org