Mobilizing Men for One-on-One Ministry: The Transforming Power of Authentic Friendship and Discipleship

Mobilizing Men for One-on-One Ministry: The Transforming Power of Authentic Friendship and Discipleship

by Steve Sonderman
Mobilizing Men for One-on-One Ministry: The Transforming Power of Authentic Friendship and Discipleship

Mobilizing Men for One-on-One Ministry: The Transforming Power of Authentic Friendship and Discipleship

by Steve Sonderman

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Overview

Men's breakfasts, golf outings, and other events still have a place in men's ministry. But Steve Sonderman is finding that the most effective ministry is relational rather than programmatic. Drawing from the successes at his church and others, Sonderman shows leaders how to motivate and mobilize their men to minister to each other. Readers learn what men are looking for today, how men grow spiritually, and how to develop a leadership pipeline in their church.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781441213761
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Publication date: 09/01/2010
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 192
File size: 892 KB

About the Author

Steve Sonderman is Associate Pastor of Men's Ministry at Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Passionate about helping every local church have its own ministry to men, he consults widely and speaks annually at more than fifteen leadership events in the U.S. and elsewhere. Steve and his wife, Colleen, have four children.

Read an Excerpt

Mobilizing Men for One-on-One Ministry

The Transforming Power of Authentic Friendship and Discipleship
By Steve Sonderman

Bethany House Publishers

Copyright © 2010 Steve Sonderman
All right reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-7642-0790-7


Introduction

When I was young, some so-called friends asked me to play hide-and-seek—at midnight, in a just-vacated house. It was pitch black outside, and inside you could only see a couple inches in front of your hand. To make things more interesting, I was the only kid who had never been in the house before. Everyone else knew it front to back. And to make things extra fun, they made me It first. Liking a good challenge, I agreed and found a corner to count to a hundred.

After yelling the obligatory "Ready or not, here I come!" I ran for my first victim—and immediately hit a wall and fell in a heap. With my nose bleeding and seeing stars, I slowly pulled myself up and took off again—down an unseen flight of stairs. The fall ended with my head hitting the ground and my wrist feeling like it was broken! I kept at it, but I made so much noise stumbling around that everyone could sneak from room to room. I was It the entire time. My night was spent in a state of confusion, not knowing where I was going or what was around the corner.

As I think back on that evening, it reminds me of millions of men today. They are running aimlessly through life in the dark, unable to make sense of the world in which they live. They are hitting walls, stumbling, and causing damage to themselves and others.

There is a reason Jesus calls his followers to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13–16). Not only is he telling us our function in the world, but he is also making a statement about the world itself—that it is full of darkness and like rotting meat. And even though God's light came into the world, Jesus says "men loved darkness" (John 3:19). It was true then and it is true now.

Jesus wants us to see the world the way he does. He wants each of us to encourage the downtrodden, comfort the hurting, provide direction for the wandering, disciple the young, inspire the emerging, welcome the seeking, and share the good news with the lost.

This book is for every man who desires to be an impact player for Christ in his sphere of influence. You and I are surrounded by men who are in need of what only God can provide, and each one of us is in a strategic location to be his hands and feet. He has placed us in just the right church, neighborhood, workplace, and club to have a ministry to the men around us.

Much of what is written today speaks of ministry from the vantage point of what it looks like when done by the church and in the church. It has to do with programmatic-type issues: how to build a successful youth ministry, how to attract and keep new people, how to raise funds for your building campaign, how to lead more effectively, and so on. Little is written to help the ordinary guy in the pew—the guy in the marketplace day in and day out who wants to honor God in his work and influence friends and neighbors for Christ. The way I read it, ministry is first and foremost about relationship, one man walking with another man, encouraging and empowering him in his spiritual journey. And you don't have to go far for one-on-one ministry opportunities. Years ago our then senior pastor Stuart Briscoe said, "Your mission field is the space between your two feet." Men, this book is about helping you see men as God does and then equipping you to minister to them in a personal and powerful way.

In the coming chapters I will share biblical principles I have learned in nearly twenty years of working with men at Elmbrook Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as with men from all around the world. The first few chapters will cover what one-on-one ministry looks like and how it can meet men where they are at. We'll then look at specific areas of ministry to men, as well as leading a man to Christ, small groups, ministering to guys in their twenties, and helping men in crisis.

This book can be used in a variety of ways. For pastors and other leaders, it will not only help you in your ministry to the men God has entrusted to you, but it can also be a tool for equipping men to more effectively minister to each other and share the ministry load. I have seen it over and over: The more we invest in people, the wider—and deeper—each church's ministry. My hope is that you will pass along the principles and ideas to guys you see who are faithful, available, and teachable (FAT), and even recommend they read the book. I also wrote this book with men's small groups in mind so they could work through it together and be further equipped as a team for God's work.

My prayer is that God will raise up an army of men wholly committed to him and wholly committed to expanding his kingdom across the street and around the world. My desire is the same as John Wesley's, who said years ago, "Give me one hundred [men] who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergy or lay; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of God upon the earth in one generation."

May you and I be that type of man.

(Continues...)



Excerpted from Mobilizing Men for One-on-One Ministry by Steve Sonderman Copyright © 2010 by Steve Sonderman. Excerpted by permission of Bethany House Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Table of Contents

Foreword 9

Introduction 11

1 Leave No Man Behind 15

2 What One-on-One Ministry Looks Like 25

3 What in the World Do Men Want in Life? 37

4 Pointing a Man to Christ 49

5 How Men Grow Spiritually 63

6 How to Disciple a Man 79

7 Mobilizing Men for Service 93

8 Building Men Into Leaders 101

9 Ministering to Twentysomething Men 121

10 Effective Small Groups 133

11 Helping a Man in Crisis 153

Conclusion 171

Appendix A Resources for Men's Small Groups 175

Appendix B No Regrets Men's Ministries 181

Acknowledgments 187

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