Hey guys, thanks for tuning in today. This is Mike Sullivan, your Arkansas District Men's Ministry Training Coach, and coming to you today on behalf of our Men's Ministry Leadership Team. And I want to share with you today the thought of finding a men's ministry leader for your church.
If you're watching this and you're the men's ministry leader, then you're there. But not every church has a men's ministry leader. If you're a pastor and you're watching this, a lot of times as a male pastor, we do have female pastors, if you're the male pastor of your church, a lot of times men's ministry is going to fall into your lap. And so I want to encourage you with something. Have a heart for the ministry that Jesus found important.
Again, Jesus'first ministry wasn't deliverance ministry. It wasn't even mass evangelism. Jesus'first ministry was men's ministry. God wants to use you, and I'm a pastor, and I'm the men's leader at my church, and I know that can be very tricky. It takes a lot of time and a lot of effort.
It's one of those things that you want to build somebody up and turn them loose in it, and I encourage you to do that. Start with you. Start with you.
If it requires getting up... early to fix breakfast for your guys or planning some venue or things. Be able to do that. Harness guys that know how to set some things up and maybe let them help you plan activities. But in looking for a men's ministry leader, you need a man who's tender towards the Holy Spirit.
I guess it goes without saying, you need to be praying first. God helped me to find a man. that would make a great men's leader. God may have somebody in mind in your church that you just haven't thought of yet. Let the Lord lay somebody on your heart. I tell you who some of the best leaders I've ever had are those that I've developed.
It's not those that had a natural calling on their life necessarily for something, but God laid them on my heart. And so I approached them and said, hey, I would like to train you to be a men's leader, or I'd like to train you to be a youth pastor, or I'd like to train you to be my children's pastor. I know what it's like to take somebody that's green as grass, don't know anything about the ministry, but they're willing to serve, they're willing to be a part of.
And if they're willing to do that, then you've got resources like myself or Terry Newman, who is our district men's director, or your local men's rep in your section. We can all gather around you and gather around that individual. and help teach them and train them. That's why we do these videos is so they can watch these videos, and I can be sharing with them things about what to do, what not to do, things that can make men's ministry beneficial, and try to answer some questions and things like that. But find somebody that's at least willing, somebody that's led by God, somebody that God has pointed out to you, and will follow you.
Because that's what you're needing. You're not somebody that's going to be a maverick and go out and do their own thing. You're needing somebody that's going to follow you and follow the vision that you have for it.
Find that man. And even if they've never done it, it's okay. There may be somebody from another church who's faithful to their church, but they want so bad to do men's ministry. That's not a bad thing either. They could come help you do men's ministry.
You just got to start somewhere. If you'll take a man who's willing. a man who's willing to learn, willing to grow, then you've got us that'll help teach him.
You can help teach him as a pastor, as a leader. If you're a men's ministry director and you've done it for umpteen years and you're ready to step aside, go through the same processes. Talk to your pastor first.
What is it that I can do to help find a man that I can turn this over to? And be sure when you turn it over, you turn it over. and don't micromanage from a distance.
But teach a man how to do it. Teach a man the good ways to do ministry and the things that aren't good. Be willing to let them fail.
This is huge. Be willing to let those that are in leadership fail because if they don't do it right, it's okay. It's only a failure if you don't learn anything from it.
If something didn't work out right, And they learned from it, everybody learned from it, that's okay, move on, keep going. Give grace to your leader so that they'll know, hey, it's all right, if I make a mistake... A lot of guys are paranoid. They don't want to do it because if I make a mistake, I'm afraid the pastor's going to tear me up. I'm afraid he's going to humiliate me and kick me out of the position.
Don't let your men's leaders or any of your leaders live in fear or shame, but rather let them know that you stand beside them. Get them in touch with those that can help broaden their horizons and show them right ways and wrong ways and things that they can do. Getting plugged into men's rallies or men's retreats, even stuff that's not Assemblies of God, but there's some local men's activities that are going on.
Help them to learn. You're going to succeed by investing yourself in that person and helping them to learn how to do it. Helping them to learn.
A men's ministry leader is not going to be an ordained man necessarily who's been in ministry for 40 years. Some of your best men's leaders are just simply that, they're men. They love God and they want to help other men learn to love God like they do. I pray you have a great week, a great part of your month. Tune in again in a couple weeks or so, we'll have another video ready for you to learn how to do men's ministry.
If there's any way that I can help you, you can contact me, Mike Sullivan, Terry Newman, through the district office. Or contact your local men's rep. If you don't know who that is, get a hold of us and let us share that with you. God bless you as you seek to do this ministry that's dear to the heart of Jesus. God bless you as you learn to do men's ministry the right way.