• Having decided the answer to question one, the next step is to call a meeting of all men in the church or area. A personal invitation to meet with the other men invariably works much better than an announcement from the pulpit, or an advert in the church magazine, although these can also be deployed.  Give plenty for notice of such a meeting.

 

• At the meeting, Outline the statistics showing the decline in church attendance over recent years and show the future forecasts if present trends continue. Then share the vision of what Christian Men Together for Scotland can do to meet this crisis that is facing the church. (CMT can provide a Speaker and Power Point/DVD presentation for this in CD format) Highlight the need for Christian men to take a stand, to take action, which will enable them to be part of a nationwide effort to turn the situation around by God’s help. Show what others are doing in their efforts to get men back to church.

 

• Set up a small committee to organise and plan the group’s activities. We recommend that you affiliate to Christian Men Together for Scotland as in this way we become part of a nation wide effort, and are also able to call on advice, support and help as we set about the task.

 

• Programme suggestions follow.  It should be remembered that not all activities will be suitable for every member, and it is essential therefore that the programme is varied so that everyone’s needs are accommodated throughout the year.

 Outline Programmes

Yearly Programme based on six – eight events per year

 

A few starter ideas for the ‘Encouraging’ events:

• Have a ‘Men with something to say’ event. Invite men from the church who have been involved in mission work, politics, healthcare, or some other project in the community to talk about their experience from a Christian perspective. Five men each talking for seven minutes makes for an interesting evening. It encourages those doing the work, and helps the listeners to think about what they may do as Christians in the community.
• Christian Men Together support projects each year, both at home and abroad. An invite to a representative from one of the charities being supported to give a talk on their work is a good way to encourage men to become involved in fundraising for one of the projects. Check our website for current programmes.
• An ‘Auction’ night. These can be fun to organise and fun to attend. The ‘fun’ aspect is most important. Proceeds can go CMT or one of CMT’s yearly projects. It is advisable to set a target before the event so that people are inspired to give. (£1000 - £3000 may be appropriate) Many companies and organisations are willing to give to this type of thing as they get the publicity, but are not usually interested if you are only trying to raise a few hundred pounds.

 A few starter ideas for the ‘Equipping’ events:

It is good to have a series of talks over a period of perhaps a few years. A series on ‘The Christian Man’ can be excellent. Most talks, we suggest, should allow for some group discussion or inter action with the speaker.

• The Christian Man at Home – Relationships with wife/family; time priorities; family worship - Bible reading and prayer; Internet use – dangers of pornography; financial considerations, credit cards / debt issues, giving to God’s work; Green issues etc.
• The Christian Man at Work – Integrity, honesty, employer / employee relationships, time balance between work and family, possibilities for ‘Alpha in the Workplace’, for a ‘Christmas Carol Service’ for inviting your Church leader to visit you in your work environment, for a workers’ Christian Fellowship.
• The Christian Man at Church – What part do we play in the ‘body of Christ’, which is the church?  Need for workers, leaders, elders, deacons, visitors, administrators, musicians, visionaries, and planners. This could be done as a ‘network course’ so that people know their gifting. Eschatology talks and debates – Is Christ coming back as He promised? Are we ready for His coming?
• The Christian Man and Moral and Social issues – talks from doctors, police and interview with local MP’s and councillors. CARE and Evangelical alliance will help here.

 A few starter ideas for the ‘Evangelising’ events:

• Social events to which one can bring their friends – Golf, five-a-side football, tennis, snooker, curling, bar-be-cues etc. After these events invites can be given to the next men’s dinner or special Church service especially geared for men. The only Christian input at these events will be personal friendship and maybe a Christian magazine or leaflet handed to everyone after the event.
• ‘Each One Bring One’ Men’s Dinners with an invited after dinner speaker who will tell of what his Christian faith means to him. Supporting programme could include a table quiz over dinner, and a singer, poet or Christian comedian.
• Special Informal Church Service geared for men. This might mean coming down from the pulpit, forgetting about singing (some non Christian men find singing embarrassing, especially if they don’t know the hymns - If singing is included pick hymns that are well known and of the ‘manly’sort!).   Having one or two men (preferably one old and one young) speaking about their faith in Christ and what it means to them, and what changes it has brought to their lives, is always powerful. Provide an opportunity for socialising and chat afterwards.
 

Weekly or monthly programmes

If the group decide on a weekly or monthly programme, then we would recommend that the programme still be based on the Encouraging, Equipping and Evangelising concept.

Obviously there is scope for a much wider range of activities and subjects. Those which could be covered under the Equipping and Encouraging headings are for example, talks on ‘Men of the Faith’ taken from the Bible. This is a challenging series, and Hebrews chapter eleven gives a good list for getting started. 

Speakers:

 If you need help in finding a suitable speaker, or want suggestions re speakers, then contact the office here at anytime. 0141 637 3688

 If your group is small and isolated and you feel unable to invite a speaker to travel to your group there are many excellent DVDs available, which could be used. Top class speakers for the price of a DVD!

Here is a list of some web sites where these can be found. There are many other sites that can be researched simply by searching for Christian DVDs:

 

• ‘Faith under Fire’ Series of DVDs
• ‘Nooma’ Series tackling critical questions of life and faith
• ‘If you want to walk on the water get out of the Boat’ DVD study
 

http://www.ucb2go.co.uk/ - A wide range of DVDs

http://www.desiringgod.org/ - John Piper, Don Carson etc.

http://www.cta.uk.com/  - A wide range of DVDs including Christian Sports personalities

 

Christian Men Together - 27/10/2010

 

 

 

 

 

www.christianmentogether.com
Encouraging, Equipping, Evangelising

Christian Men Together for Scotland is a company limited by guarantee, registered in Scotland.
Postal Address: Area 3b1 Challenge House, 29 Canal Street, Glasgow G4 0AD
Company No. 311637 - Scottish Charity Number SCO38062.
Registered Office: Alexander Sloan, Chartered Accountants, 38 Cadogan Street, Glasgow G2 7HF.

... working in partnership with theCommission, Scotland's day of Challenge and Encouragement for Men. www.theCommission.org.uk