The face of men’s ministries in Alabama is changing. Once known as Brotherhood, men’s ministries now extend beyond the traditional monthly Brotherhood breakfasts.
“Men’s ministries [in churches] are growing in the way that they are encompassing the total of men’s ministries rather than focusing on the one dimension of monthly meetings,” said Tommy Puckett, director of the office of men’s ministries for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM).
The meetings are important as a chance for men to regroup and discuss the ministry, Puckett said, but he encourages churches to focus on four specific areas in men’s ministry.
Those areas are reaching men for Jesus, discipling men once they have become Christians, equipping men for ministry and sending men to be on-mission Christians through missions trips or projects.
“Men’s ministries covers the entire Christian commission of Matthew 28:19–20,” Puckett said. “Our commission as Christians and in men’s ministries recognizes that Scripture teaches that men are to be spiritual leaders in their home, workplace and church. And if you’re not adequately prepared for that, all these areas become dysfunctional.”
Men’s ministries is not just for adults, though. It is also important to get boys involved in the men’s ministry groups for them, such as Royal Ambassadors (RAs) for the younger ages and Challengers for teenagers.
“The foundation of a life starts as a child,” Puckett said. “So if it’s strong there will be more stability there as they are pulled and stretched and tested.”
As more children grow up in single-parent homes, the relationships that are built through men’s ministries become more important. Puckett said he has seen more young men who are growing up without a man in the home, and so the friendships they develop through men’s ministries fulfill a need for them.
Building relationships between men also gets men involved in men’s ministries, Puckett explained.
“It’s not just about getting men there, because these days, men want to know if you [the church] care about them as individuals,” he said.
These friendships also lead to establishing trust, Puckett said. Then men are more likely to get involved.
Besides building relationships with other men, Puckett’s office also focuses on a man’s relationship to his children, especially in the form of affection. “Every boy wants to feel a blessing from his father,” Puckett said. “If it was so done in Scripture, it should be done now.
“We keep before them ‘What kind of a legacy am I going to leave [my children]?’ The choice is theirs,” Puckett said.
One of the challenges Puckett’s office faces is getting Alabama’s churches and men to realize that men’s ministries can happen anywhere, whether through organized events and trips or through a ministry that one man in the church does, like visiting a local prison or leading a Bible study.
Some men utilize their vocations in ministry ways, such as a doctor going on a medical missions trip. Investing in the lives of the younger men or boys of the church by mentoring or leading an RA or Challenger group is another way men get involved.
Others are using sports opportunities and special outdoor interests such as hunting to reach men with similar interests who have no relationship with Christ.
“The interest activities have got to have a purpose for what they’d like to see accomplished,” Puckett said. “At some events, the men just get together. Others have someone speak at the end who intertwines the gospel of Christ. That’s the hook that leads them into a relationship with God.”
Puckett noted that quality is more important than quantity.
“Don’t plan a lot of stuff for stuff’s sake,” he said. “It’s not how much is planned, but that it’s planned well, with God in the planning.”
Some churches hold meetings like men’s breakfasts where men can simply fellowship. The main goal is to give men a sense of belonging so they will trust others and be more open to hearing about God.
But meetings and events are also times for men who are already Christians to have a chance to be discipled and to grow.
“Men are sensing the need to join men from other churches in associational rallies, men’s retreats and specialty conferences,” Puckett said.
The meetings and events also help men to find what their personal ministry style is.
“Ministry is a blessing in itself, but it is also a fulfillment when you find your passion, your joy,” Puckett said. “One of the biggest challenges facing men today is having a clear sense of reaching men for Jesus Christ in an evangelistic way and letting discipleship be intentional.”
The best way to overcome this obstacle is to help men focus on their relationship with God and to see the need to grow daily in that relationship. Puckett said out of that growth will develop a desire to witness and to be discipled.
For a church’s men’s ministry to grow, it needs a pastor who sees the need for it to grow, or even begin in cases where no ministry exists, Puckett said. Once a pastor recognizes that need, he needs to disciple and develop a core group of three to four men who will be led by God and who will lead the men in ministry.
Puckett suggests that every year, the men’s ministries organization hold at least three events — one where men can be reached for Christ, one discipleship opportunity to help men grow and one event where the men work on a missions project.
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