I consistently get asked how to involve men deeper in prayer ministry and the life of the church.  My advice is usually to start small, with a group of five or six men who will commit to a six week journey together. 

What I typically find are three very real needs for all of us…

1) Honest Relationships/Community

2) Applicable to Daily Life                                                   

3) Opportunities to Live out a personal faith

 I started a Bible Study for men only about twenty years ago.  The first day, I was the only man in the room who would pray out loud.  The other men had never really had opportunity for this or they were timid in the midst of a new community experience.  When I left the group to come to Atlanta, I could rarely get a prayer in at all!!  As they grew more comfortable with each other, they more they joined in.  Blessing.

When I left the group, they also kept going and ten years later they are still strong and praying for me and others.  This group has become the prayer warriors of the church.  As people have needs, they bring them to this group.  An even greater blessing. 

As we give folks opportunities to live out their faith within safe community, especially men, it seems that we begin to practice our faith, to live out our faith with more consistency. 

Want to know more?  Join me at the” Make Me an Instrument of Thy Peace: Praying the Prayer of Francis.”  This spiritual formation retreat offers you the opportunity to explore Franciscan spirituality in an intentional Christian community. Come to rest, to seek, to discover and to grow. Held June 20-22 at the Bethany Center in nearby Lutz, Fla., the retreat precedes the Assembly and features Chris Webb, president of Renovaré, and Bo Prosser, the Fellowship’s coordinator for congregational formation. Learn more and register online