Welcome to the Men's Ministry!
Biblical manhood does not happen by accident. We exist to live out the challenge from Jesus to be "iron sharpening iron" with our fellow Christian brothers.
We are also heavily invested in mentoring and discipleship. Here is our approach:
STEP ONE: Get connected in Biblical Community and prove yourself faithful. [Acts 2:40-47; 2 Timothy 2:2] Being connected in Biblical Community means being involved in a combination of environments in which you are being challenged to pursue Christ, train in the 4 Disciplines, grow in Christ-likeness, and exercise your spiritual gifts in Small Groups, Serving Groups, Community Groups, MU classes, Ministry Teams, etc. Where are you now connected? Demonstrating faithfulness translates as being "leader qualified" (living life consistent with Biblical standards). In other words, unless a man has proven himself to be dependable, spiritually intense, and teachable he is not ready for mentoring. Are there any men at MBC who can affirm your faithfulness?
STEP TWO: Identify and confirm purposeful mentoring friendships. [Luke 6:12-16] Begin the process by praying and pursuing godly men. We recommend three areas of mentoring friendships (a Paul – greater maturity and experience; a Barnabas – peer encourager; a Timothy – younger in maturity and experience). This happens supernaturally as God leads you to men in your ministry environments. Make a list of godly men you know and place them into one of these categories. Pray and ask others to pray. Pursue these men by meeting a couple times with an open dialogue. Make a short-term schedule for this initial season to end in order to evaluate. It may result in a short-term, seasonal or lifelong mentoring experience. Make a game plan and see who God directs you to in this effort.
STEP THREE: Establish a consistent schedule and specific goals. [Matthew 22: 36-40; 28:19, 20] The primary starting point is a vision of both a greater love for God (knowledge and obedience) and greater love for others (ministry leadership). Set specific goals in the areas of the 4 Disciplines and Christ-like qualities. What goals have you set and attained with your 3 types of mentoring friendships? Mentoring is intentional and relational. The tool box is Holy Scripture. The power and wisdom comes solely from the Holy Spirit. How do discipleship and mentoring relate to each other? The Bible is silent on the subject, so we take a soft approach to say that discipleship is the umbrella in which mentoring is placed under. Jesus discipled the Twelve and mentored Peter, James and John. Paul discipled many men and mentored Timothy and Titus. It is discipleship at its deepest level.
