Resources
to Disciple Men


Making Kingdom Disciples
helps readers to understand their service in God’s kingdom, the differences between generations, the postmodern understanding of reality, and the Christian’s world and life view. inquire

 
 The Dad in the Mirror
A blue print for men who want to break the cycle of past fathering mistakes and create a new, heart-centered pattern for healthy and loving family life. inquire


Great Dads
Becoming a father is one thing in a man's life. Learning how to become a DAD is something else entirely! This book is a must read for every man who wants to become a Great Dad. In fact, it may be the most important book that you ever read! inquire


Effective Men's Ministry
Members of the National Coalition of Men's Ministries have written this hands-on resource guide to assist local churches and denominations as they seek to both initiate and implement healthy ministries for men. inquire

 

 


June 2005, Vol 1, No.2

A Statistical Look at Fatherhood in America  
from Dr. Robert Hamrin of Great Dads

  •  35.5 million children suffer from father absence.  This is more than half of all children under 18.

  • Physical father absence affects 24 million children (34% of all Children.)

  • Emotional father absence affects another 11.5 million children.

  • Children who exhibit violent misbehavior are 11 times more likely not to live with their fathers.

  • 60% of America’s rapists grew up in homes without fathers.

  • 3 out of 4 teenage suicides occur in households where a parent has been absent.

  • In a recent national survey of how teens form their self-image, the 2 most important factors identified were 1) a close relationship with their father, and 2) spending a lot of time with their father.

  • In one study of teenage girls, only 4% felt that they could go to their fathers about a serious problem.

  • In another study, when teens under stress were asked where they turn to for help in a crisis, dads were 48th on the list.

  • The percentage of fathers in America, including Christian dads, who have received training in how to be an effective father is less than 1%. 

A Call for a Discipleship Reformation of the Church 
by Pat Morley 

Many leaders have expressed astonishment over the December, 2003 Barna statistic that only 4% of Americans and 9% of born again Christians hold a biblical worldview.

Given the vast amount of money spent by the church each year—approximate $31 billion in 2001 (churches representing 49,401,571 members, Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, 2003, p. 386)—one is tempted to ask, “What has the church been making, because it sure hasn't been making disciples?”

Jesus said, “Go and make disciples.” That's interesting, because he could have picked anything. He didn't say, “Go and make worshippers.” He didn't say, “Go and make workers.” He didn't say, “Go and make tithers.” Is Jesus interested in worshippers, workers, and tithers? Of course. But he knew we wouldn't get worshippers by making worshippers, and so forth. We get worshippers, workers, and tithers by making disciples.

America has many systemic problems: divorce, fatherlessness, unwed mothers, drugs, alcoholism, abortion, crime, suicide, poverty, truancy, cheating, disrespect for authority. They all need attention. Beneath everything, though, is the need for a discipleship reformation of the Christian church. I pray we see it in our lifetimes.   
Continue reading this article by Pat Morley

Building a Sustainable Men’s Ministry 
by Gary Yagel

Step 1:   Find 1-3 Men’s Ministry “Go to Guys.”
Step 2:  Equip Your Men’s Ministry “Go to Guys,” and Help Them Build a Team

All of the ministry that is undertaken by the body of Christ, including of course the discipling ministry of the teaching and ruling elders, could be called “men’s ministry,” in so far as it ministers to the male gender.  However, in this newsletter, we are using the term “men’s ministry” to describe the mobilizing of the men in your congregation, under the authority of the session, to use their gifts to help men be discipled.

As we saw last time, the starting point for men’s ministry is to prayerfully identify a few men who have the passion and qualifications to be a part of the leadership core for the men’s ministry.  If you are reading this, you may be part of that leadership team.

The second step is to expose this team to training in men’s ministry that will intensify their passion and give them some practical understanding of effective ministry to men in the 21st century.  Here are 7 potential sources of training:

1.  The Men’s Ministry Action Plan.  This booklet is published jointly by the PCA CE&P and the Man in the Mirror and presents a 3 part strategy for effective men’s ministry: Create Value, Capture Momentum, Sustain Change.  It is available in the PCA bookstore.

 2.  Training available through the Man in the Mirror National Training Center.  There are 3 one day regional seminars, Discipling Men’s Hearts, Brothers Building Vital Relationships, Essentials of a Sustainable Men’s Ministry.  There is also a full 3 day seminar held in Orlando several times each year.  


View MIM training opportunities.

3.  Free Online Mini-Course.  You can visit this right now, by clicking this link, but why not get the rest of the core team together around a lap-top and go through it together. 

4.  Effective Men’s Ministry, published by the National Coalition of Men’s Ministries is an excellent collection of articles by many men’s leaders around the country.  It is also carried by the PCA bookstore.

5.  The National Coalition of Men’s Ministries Annual Conference.  
The 2005 conference in D. C. was attended by members of 8 different PCA churches.  The next conference will be held in Colorado Springs in the Spring of 2006.  For more info go to www.ncmm.org.

6.  This newsletter and its links.  Without overwhelming you with data, our intent is to give you the kind of vision and training you need.

7.  Other churches doing effective men’s ministry.  Part of our goal for this newsletter is to highlight the lessons that those in our denomination are learning about how to be effective in discipling men.  Please pass information on to us, and help us accomplish this objective!

When it comes to building a larger team for men’s ministry, David Delk of Man in the Mirror has some excellent ideas: 

“Invite men to help fulfill the vision, not just accomplish tasks. Anytime you ask a man to help with the ministry, ask him in terms of the vision, not the event. For example, imagine you need someone to bring drinks for a men’s barbecue. Don’t say, “Kevin, we need drinks at the barbecue. Would you mind bringing them?” Instead, say, “Kevin, we are training men for the battle. One way we are going to reach the men of our city for Christ is by having a barbecue. Would you be willing to bring drinks to help train men for the battle and reach men for Christ?”  

Continue reading this excellent article

PCA Men’s Ministry News

General Assembly.  TE Gary Yagel will be presenting the Great Dads Seminar Tuesday afternoon so that chaplains, pastors, and ruling elders can stop buy and find out how to use this tool to equip our men to be effective Dads who pass on a godly heritage to their children.

Stop by the CE&P table or the men’s ministry section of the bookstore to talk with us about men’s ministry.

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