Reports from CMT Area Groups
If you're part of a men's group in Scotland and would like to encourage other groups by what you've been up to, send us your stories. Alternatively, if you would like to get in touch with a men's group, you can contact your CMT Local Area Co-ordinator or contact Allan Robertson, CMT's Scottish Manager.East Kilbride Athens win the annual five-a-side football competition, June 2010
The yearly five-a-side football tournament organised by the Greenview men’s group was a great success again this year. Eight teams participated in the competition last week, on three pitches at Nether Pollok. It was one of the best nights we have had for the tournament, and with each team being allowed two reserves we had a total of 60 plus men present, including officials and spectators.
The winning team were the ‘East Kilbride Athens’ (see picture) who picked up the trophy for the second time within a few years. There was also a prize for the ‘man of the match’ and pizza was served to everyone at the end. We also distributed the story of David McMinn in a leaflet entitled ‘What God means to me’ along with some copies of John’s Gospel.
A flyer was handed out telling everyone about the White Water rafting event on the river Tay on Saturday 28 August.
It would be good to see others organising a tournament in their area.
Men's breakfast, Helensburgh - 17 April 2010
A good crowd of men gathered for a full cooked breakfast in Helensburgh Baptist Church. After breakfast, Allan Robertson gave an update on recent developments in CMT, and future plans.
Resurrection Day, Dundee - 4 April 2010
1,500 people were present in the Caird Hall, Dundee, for an Easter celebration — the main speaker, Rev. Tommy MacNeil spoke passionately on the resurrection. CMT had a stall in the exhibition hall alongside numerous other Christian organisations, where some useful contacts were made.
Men's invitation dinner, Glasgow - 19 March 2010
Just under 80 men came along and enjoyed a sit-down meal in the Carmichael Hall, Eastwood, followed by an entertaining quiz after dinner. Gram Seed, a former football casual from Middlesborough, then spoke about his life and amazing transformation when he became a Christian. He has since founded a ministry called 'Sowing seeds', working with young offenders and young unemployed people.
Larbert Baptist Church Men's Breakfast - 15 January 2010
On Saturday 9th January 17 men braved the snowy conditions and met for breakfast in Larbert Baptist Church. Allan Robertson, Scottish Manager, was present. Allan is fast becoming an expert on the full cooked breakfast variety. In his opinion this one was up there among the best. After breakfast Allan spoke to the group about the work of CMT. He highlighted the forthcoming tour with Tony Anthony as well as speaking about opportunities for evangelism and for being involved in this year's projects, details of which will be announced shortly.
Barrhead Breakfast - Cafe-style - 6 December 2009
Men from several churches in the Barrhead area have started to meet once a month in a local cafe - The Coffeehouse - for breakfast and to share together. The initiative for this came from Andy McIntyre who is an assistant minister in a local Church of Scotland. On Saturday 5 December, 13 men sat down to a full breakfast but only after they had listened to a short talk from Allan Robertson about the work of CMT. Allan had been invited along to share the vision of CMT. He also managed a plug for theCommission and for the Tony Anthony tour as well.
CMT on the road in November - 22 November 2009
Matthew McKinnon and Allan Robertson have been busy talking about the work of CMT this month.
Men's breakfasts were held at Airdrie Baptist Church and by new men's group 7:24 in Alloa at the town's Royal Oak Hotel. Aside from great food, both saw CMT being discussed and question and answer sessions taking place.
Matthew also had the privilege of preaching at Maddiston Evangelical Church in Falkirk where their evening service was well attended and yet more people heard about the work of CMT.
These events come hot on the heels of another successful Glasgow men's dinner. Ten different churches from the south side of Glasgow were represented at the recent Invitation Dinner held in the Redhurst Hotel on 30 October. 137 men attended the event and they enjoyed an excellent meal before brains were taxed by an entertaining quiz from Douglas Kenney (Bishopbriggs) on the general theme of the police. Most tables managed to spot Kojak but a few were stumped by Van der Valk!The guest speaker was Colin McKerracher, Chief Constable of Grampian Police who spoke about his faith and also about the need for Christians to get out of their churches to where the people were. He referred to the work of street pastors and how they were working successfully with the police in the Grampian area.
Ladywell Baptist Church Men's Breakfast - October 6 2009
Over 20 men came together for breakfast at Ladywell Baptist Church, Livingston on Saturday 3 October. Most came from the church but they were also joined by a number of men from Dedridge Baptist Church in Livingston. After a great cooked breakfast they listened to a presentation about the work of CMT given by Allan Robertson, Scottish Manager. Following the presentation there was a lively discussion about how to move forward men's ministry within Livingston.
Netherauldhouse Evangelical Prayer Breakfast - 20 September 2009
Almost 30 men enjoyed breakfast and hearing from guest speaker Edwin Gunn last weekend. His subject was "The Christian man and spiritual warfare". He used Nehemiah as an example of someone resisting the enemy and getting on with doing God's work. It was both challenging and encouraging. We also heard from Mark Cameron who is planning to run a course based on John Eldredge's book "Wild at Heart" - more details on this course on the CMT website shortly.
Senior daytripper's take to the coast - 23 May 2009
Greenview's 'Senior' men had a day out on Tuesday 19 May to Ayr and Largs. The 'Tam o' Shanter' Centre and Burns Monument at Ayr were their first stop. It's a great place for a visit and there is a good coffee shop there. A walk down to the Brig o' Doon through the Burns Memorial Garden was a treat as the gardens were full of colour. Then a nice drive along the coast for a visit to the new Nardini's in Largs, before enjoying high tea at the Bosun restaurant situated beside the Marina. It was a good opportunity to share time and news with friends and to put the world to rights! 'Encouraging' sums up well the day!
Glasgow South Churches Invitation Dinner - 6 May 2009
Nine churches in Glagsow's South Side worked together to invite friends along to a dinner held in the Couper Institute on Friday 24 April. There were 106 men present on the night. Brian Lowrie of MAD Ministries was compere and quiz master. After dinner there was a very powerful talk from Jamie Kidd of Avanti Ministries. Jamie spoke about his early life, about joining the army and serving in Iraq, and finally about God coming in to his life in an amazing way. He described how he has swapped the front-line of the army for the front-line for God. Please continue to pray for the effect that Jamie's talk might have on those who listened.
Greenview Evangelical Men's Group - 5 April 2009
Greenview Men hosted a breakfast yesterday at 8am in Glasgow's Southside. Thirty six men, of varying ages from six different churches, were treated to a superb breakfast. Comments such as "that was the best breakfast since Adam" were heard afterwards, so the guys obviously enjoyed themselves. The offering reflected that, and easily covered the expenses.
There was also some good singing and a challenging address on the subject of prayer by Martin Allen, now of Kilsyth. Everyone was informed of the two CMT projects for this year, and there was some interest in the White Water Rafting expedition planned for Saturday 29 August on the River Tummel.
Woodhill Evangelical Church, Bishopbriggs - March 2009
More than eighty men gather for a quiz and curry night at Woodhill Evangelical Church, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow last week. Three out of every four were non-Christians which was very encouraging to see. For many, it was their first time at such an event.
Garry Blair brought an excellent talk at the end clearly presenting the gospel. He received a good hearing and we pray that God's Holy Spirit will continue to nurture the seed sown in these men’s hearts until it bears fruit.
We have long known that the quiz and curry nights are an excellent tool for evangelism but two less recognised aspects came to light.
The night saw ten 13-year olds come along. At the end, they were all asking "when is the next one?"; one of them wants to bring his dad! The format clearly has an appeal for this age group too.
The other aspect was the inclusion of men who are on the fringes of church life. The event brought barriers down and this again is something we should build on.
The quiz format of outreach continues to develop. The team of Rajan, Derek and myself have been booked to do a quiz at Newmilns at the end of May and on Glasgow South Side at the end of October. We have another enquiry from CMT Ayrshire which we are working on. The format has even made its way successfully to Dublin using our resources.
If you'd like some help organising a men's curry and quiz night, you can get in touch with your CMT Local Area Co-ordinator.
Woodhill Evangelical Church, Bishopbriggs - 16 February 2009
Woodhill Evangelical Church, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow held a men's quiz and curry night earlier this month. Billy Swann from Dublin was the guest speaker.
Douglas Kenney from Woodhill says "Thank you to all who prayed for the February men's quiz and curry night. Your prayers were essential and effective as we saw 80 men gathered for the quiz. No more than 15 of these were church members. This means that there were over 60 men in attendance who have no live church connection and would not claim to have any personal faith in Christ.
"They listened intently as Billy Swann testified to the power and influence of God in his life and challenged them as to where they stood with regard to their salvation.
"As we reflected over the weekend we concluded that there are few other occasions where men from outside the Christian community:
- willingly accept the invitation to come to church
- enjoy the experience
- happily pay for the privilege
- ask when they can come back
- invite their friends to come with them
- have no qualms about allowing us to share our faith with them and listen intently and respectfully when that opportunity is taken
"Your prayers are essential to every element of this process. Please continue to pray for the seed sown at this event.
"The next event will take place on Friday 27 March. Please pray for this and for speaker Garry Blair from Motherwell who is taking a year out from being a missionary in Marseilles".
Do you know any men who are drifting away from God? Why not invite them to the next quiz and curry night and do your bit to throw them a lifeline?
See events page for more information.
Positive Men's Ministry in Fife - 15 December 2008
New men's group in Fife
new men's ministry has recently started at Collydean Baptist Church, Fife, led by Peter Perrie. The church has a membership of 26. Peter says "I mention this only to emphasise that numbers are not so important and should in no way be the only measure of success in any ministry or we may miss something our Lord wants to give us".
Freestyling Collydean
Freestyle footballer, Al Johnson recently visited Collydean Men's Fellowship and although Peter was disappointed in the attendance he saw after some reflection and prayer the following points about the event that really mattered:
- there were Christians and non-Christians
- there were young and old
- there were men and women
- there were other churches
- the gospel was being given in testimony, praise and prayer.
- our church was working as united family
Al gave a great display for the group and his testimony was well received; a definite recommendation for other men's groups looking for ideas particularly for younger men.
The main success was that Jesus was present and his work was being done. It was an example of the positive influence that men's ministry can have in a church when led by Jesus.
New ministries forming
Since that evening, the women at Collydean Baptist Church have come together to start a women's ministry. Jim Bowman, who is blind, started coming to Collydean Baptist Church after receiving an event flyer. He has now joined Collydean Baptist and is in the process of establishing a ministry for the blind and partially sighted.
The praise leader at Collydean Baptist Church has formed a band called Collydean. They are keen to become actively involved in men's ministry through CMT and they look forward to bringing you more details shortly.
And so the work goes on. Please pray for the men in Fife that our Lord will allow them to receive His word as we continue to outreach to them.
Peter Perrie
Glasgow Men's Dinner - By Chance or By Design - 24 October 2008
Around 150 men from a variety of backgrounds met in Carmichael Hall, Glasgow for a men's dinner.
Organised by a group of men from churches in Glasgow's Southside led by Allan Robertson, the national co-ordinator of Christian Men Together for Scotland, the evening got off to a great start with a table quiz to get the brain cells moving and had men chatting and laughing together.
Following an enjoyable three course meal, CMT updated everyone on the Evaluate Project run by CARE. Those present were encouraged to get involved, either individually or with their men's group.
The highlight of the evening was after dinner speaker Dr Alastair Noble. 'By Chance or Design' was the title of an enlightening and fascinating talk which gripped everyone's attention. Sharing his own personal faith, he finished by speaking of how he believed God had revealed Himself in His Son Jesus Christ.
With discussions going on all over the hall after Alastair's challenging talk, emptying the place proved difficult. It was a great night and certainly something which other groups should think of emulating!
Glenrothes Baptist Church Men's Fellowship Meeting, Laurel Bank Hotel, Markinch - 14 April 2008
The guest speakers were Bill Baird and Iain Craig of "CARE for Scotland".
Bill gave an excellent talk about the work CARE are doing in areas such as politics and internet misuse.
Iain gave part of his testimony on how his life has been affected by pornography and the healing given to him through his faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. This is more of a problem to Christian men than we like to admit and more work needs to be done to defeat this evil in our midst.
The men attending were inspired by this talk and uplifted by the praise led by our brothers John and Colin of Collydean Baptist Church.
I have asked Bill to consider holding a "Call to Purity Day" for men in Fife which Inverkeithing Baptist Church has offered to host. The date has yet to be confirmed but hopefully November this year and perhaps other dates in 09.
Details of CARE can be found at www.care.org.uk.
Greenview Men's Night at Xscape - January 2008
Xscape is the new sport and leisure centre at Braehead, Glasgow.
Amongst the many activities on offer is crazy golf, and this year we decided to try this, instead of the
curling, which we had enjoyed for the last two years.
It proved to be a popular choice, and one that everyone appreciated. Some men from the group had invited their non Christian friends, and altogether 37 men turned up for this night out, with ages ranging from teens to 70's!
The organisation was excellent, we had booked in advance, and by playing foursomes, and with each group starting at a different hole in the course, there was no waiting around to get started. The place is warm and the 'paradise island' props make the course very attractive and great fun. After the game we went upstairs to the balcony and some great food. Prizes were distributed to the skilled and not so skilled, and invites given out to our next men's dinner in March. We also made available application forms for our Alpha course starting shortly, plus some copies of MOTA magazine, produced by CVM.
Lots of interesting conversations about spiritual things took place over the meal.
If you want a score to beat try 33 for the round from one of our guys, this included eight 'hole in one's'! I think he must have been down practising!
At just £12 a head, this is a night we would recommend. For more info ring 0141 638 9229
Central Evangelical Church, Kilmarnock - 27 October 2007
Central Evangelical in Kilmarnock hosted their first men's breakfast with
Matthew McKinnon of CMT heading the bill. This is the first of many to come and we were greatly encouraged
by the numbers that attended. We hope to have a full programme up and running before the year end with
breakfasts and events planned till at least Dec 2008. We look forward to the incoming year's programme,
which will be a year of Encouraging, Equipping and Evangelising of men in Central Evangelical Church,
Kilmarnock Town and surrounding villages.
We look forward to working closely with CMT and seeing men once more standing up and being counted for the expansion of God's Kingdom. Like Peter who doubted when Jesus told him to cast out his net on the other side, but then does so and catches beyond his wildest dreams, it's time for us all to stop doubting, and like Peter.... ACT.