Sometimes the question is asked, does HBC have a men’s ministry?  This is an excellent question!  Men are different from women in various ways and it pays to minister to men as men.  Every Christian and every church will want to see the men in their Christian community grow in Christ-like maturity.  So the answer for HBC is ‘Yes! You bet!’  Read on to see more on why its important and how we do it at HBC.

photo credit: Powerhouse Museum Collection

In Proverbs, the man (or ‘my son’) is challenged to follow wisdom and pursue sexual purity, sound speech and humility.  In Titus, older men are to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance (Titus 2:2).  Younger men are to follow the example of Titus in being self-controlled and good.  They are to show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned (Titus 2:6-8).  Men are to love their wives as Christ loves the church (Eph 5:25) and bring up their children in the training and instruction of the Lord (Eph 6:4).  They have a particular responsibility to manage their household and uphold sound teaching in the church (1 Tim 3).  These are only some of the particular instructions for men in the Bible.  All Scripture informs and guides men on what they should think and how they should live.

Every church takes a slightly different approach as to how they do ‘Mens Ministry’.  Some will put on a yearly conference, some will have a monthly breakfast and some take all their men away for an annual camping trip. Other things that happen at different times and places are prayer triplets, accountability partners and social groups.   They are all good strategies and, done well, will grow the men in a church.

At HBC its our conviction that the key to Gospel growth among all people, including men, is Bible teaching, prayer and relationships.  These three elements, which arise from the Bible, work together under God’s providence to grow people in Christ.  Therefore our Men’s ministry will put a high priority on Bible teaching, prayer and relationships.

The main strategy for Mens ministry at HBC is for all the guys to be part of a Growth Group.  Some of these will be single sex and others will be mixed.  Here guys can read the Bible together, pray and build relationships every week!  Most men will end up meeting up in various ways outside the regular weekly time, especially as connections grow.  In mixed groups often the men and women will split up for prayer so we can be a bit more honest and open with each other as we pray.  Sometimes, especially when a passage has specific applications for men and women, guys and girls can also split up for the study.  I try to encourage men to see the men in their group as the guys they should encourage, challenge, pray for and even evangelise with.  I think its fantastic that we have almost 240 men meeting each week to grow as Christians.

Another element of the mens ministry at HBC is the Mens Katoomba Convention.  This happens every year towards the end of February (Feb 17-18 in 2012).  This is a great opportunity for Bible teaching (directed to men from first class Bible teachers), prayer and relationships (especially staying overnight and travelling on a bus together).  Over the last few years we’ve seen many guys take real steps forward as Christian men, husbands and fathers.  We’d love to have 80-100 guys come along, especially from our AM and PM congregations.  Another conference worth getting to is Hunter Mens Convention held in the first week in September.

A third element of mens ministry at HBC is a culture of 1:1 ministry.  Meeting up 1:1 with another bloke to read the Bible and pray is a great way for men to grow.  This year we’ve trained about 20 guys in 1:1 ministry at Monday Madskills and we’re looking to train more in the future.  We’re also keen for blokes to read the Bible with non-Christian guys they know.  At least one 1:1 meet up is feasible for most blokes at church.

There are other things going on as well - usual informal and spontaneous.  Perhaps I’ll blog about these another time.  If you’re keen to see more Mens Ministry at HBC let me encourage you to get in a group, deliberate build connections with the blokes in that group, come to MKC and see where the Bible, prayer and relationships will take you!

Is there a ‘Mens Ministry’ at HBC?  Why have there been less events than in previous years?

As the Maturity Pastor I thought I’d take a moment to answer these questions.

Yes, there is a Men’s Ministry at HBC.  The staff, elders and growth group leaders are committed to seeing men at HBC grow in their knowledge of God, love for others and active Christian service.

How do we hope this will happen?  Well, primarily through relevant biblical preaching and Bible study at Growth Groups during the week.  This is why I see that a large part of my (and our) ministry to men is to encourage them to come to church and to join a Growth Group.  I hope to train enough leaders so that every man at church can get to a group of some kind.  Within groups (whether men’s groups or otherwise) I hope the men will pray together, hang out together, and grow together.

But what about events?  It’s true that special events for men can help with Christian growth and fellowship.  There have been a few less events lately.  This is partly because the calendar has been quickly filled with other really important stuff and frankly, myself and many of the senior guys have been flat out!  This year, the events in the calendar are Katoomba Mens Convention (March 5-6), Hunter Mens Convention (Sept 4) and a Wednesday evening event on August 4th about ‘How to read the Bible with your wife’.  I’m hoping to produce some blogs on this soon.

Would you like to do more with Men’s Ministry?  Why not agree with the men in your group to read a book like ‘the Disciplines of a Godly Man’ by Kent Hughes.  Or ask a staff member or older man to come and speak with the men in your group about an aspect of Christian manhood.  Or go camping together!

The city of Newcastle needs thousands of godly men to share the gospel and live the gospel- I’d love for HBC to play a role in this.

photo credit: One lucky guy