Church
Event FAQ's
On this page you will
find information...
About
our Men's Events
Q.
What is distinctive about a men's event from Man in the Mirror?
A. We provide you with everything
you need to integrate a successful event into a purposeful men's ministry.
Before you schedule, our national ministry consultants will help you
understand how the event fits into the context of your overall ministry.
After your event is scheduled, we provide everything you need from leadership
training tools to full-color promotional materials. After the event,
we provide an integrated follow-up so you can get men connected to the
ongoing ministry of your church.
Planning
for a Men's Event
Q.
How much lead time do we need to host an event?
A. We recommend that you
have at least 12 weeks to gather your leadership and set everything
in motion. If you already have the infrastructure in place, you could
do a well publicized event with 9 weeks of lead time.
Q.
Can we just do the event without having our leaders complete the Men's
Ministry Action Plan?
A. Yes, but the "MMAP" can
be the difference between a single event and a lasting spiritual awakening
among your men. Numerous churches have shared how their whole men's
ministry "took off" because of the MMAP.
Q.
Do you have suggestions for advertising and promoting the event?
A. Once you schedule an event,
we send a comprehensive promotional manual that shows you exactly what
to do to have a successful event. When your faculty is assigned, you'll
receive a promotional packet with a sample weekly plan to follow. We
also provide full-color promotional materials including bulletin inserts,
posters, and business-card sized invitations suitable for overprinting.
Q.
Should we get other churches involved in this with us?
A. Yes, in fact we strongly
encourage it unless you want to have a retreat that is exclusive to
the men of your church. Having men attend from neighboring churches
does not detract from the experience for your men.
Q.
How should we invite another church (or group of churches)?
A. The best way is to ask
other churches to "co-sponsor" the event with you. You may also simply
invite them to have their men attend. Either way, we suggest you call
and meet with their men's ministry leadership and have your Senior Pastor
send a letter to the Senior Pastor of other churches you invite.
Q.
Some of your events seem to deal with marriage and family. Should single
men attend your events?
A. Both Success That Matters
and Seven Seasons touch on marriage and family (about 3/8 of Success
That Matters and 1/4 of Seven Seasons). In both cases, our faculty are
careful to treat single and divorced men with dignity and to mention
that the principles we will discuss apply in a variety of situations
and relationships. Still, many think that marriage is the number one
problem in the lives of Christian men and we do not want to avoid the
opportunity to address it at our events. Dads That Make a Difference
is geared towards fathers and grandfathers.
Q.
What else is covered by the scheduling and per man
fees?
A. In addition to the promotional
materials, handouts at the event and shipping and handling, your fees
cover the personnel costs to select and train faculty, support your
event from our office, create new events and maintain a ministry team.
To continue providing quality events, we raise money from donors and
foundations to supplement the fees we charge.
Q.
What are the pitfalls I need to avoid as I plan an event?
A. Try to schedule your event
a month away from any other events that include the men of your church
(including Promise Keepers events, marriage seminars and other community
events). Also, avoid key sports weekends in your area. Pastoral support
is another critical factor. Be sure to involve your pastoral staff in
the process. Get our information packet,
including the video that explains our strategy. Share these with your
pastor(s) and communicate the importance of their support of the event
through announcements and their personal attendance.
Putting
on the Event Itself
Q.
What is your recommended schedule for the event?
A. We recommend you do the
event Friday night and Saturday morning so that it is over by noon.
This increases the likelihood that men will come to the event.
Q.
What is the best seating arrangement for the event?
A. We suggest you hold the
event in a large open room with banquet style seating. Having the men
sit around tables adds to the discussion groups without interfering
with the presentations. However, each event is designed so that it can
be presented in a church sanctuary with fixed pew seating.
Q.
Can wives be invited to attend any part of the event?
A. With both Success That
Matters and Seven Seasons, we recommend you invite wives for the session
that is typically the first one on Saturday morning. This allows the
women to "listen in" as we talk about a man's role in marriage and family
and enhances the opportunity for communication and life change after
the event.
Q.
Do I need to choose men ahead of time to lead the discussion groups
at the event?
A. Yes, definitely. If you
have banquet seating you can recruit table leaders to help with publicity
and inviting men as well as leading their tables during the event. If
you don't have leaders before hand, don't worry. The groups will form
naturally at the event.
Q.
Do I need to choose men ahead of time to lead the six-week follow-up
groups?
A. Yes. These men will have
a special session with our faculty during the event. You should find
one group leader for every seven to ten men you expect in attendance.
Their role during the six weeks is simply to facilitate the group by
determining a place and time and guiding the discussions. It doesn't
take great Bible knowledge to lead a group - we supply all the materials
and discussion questions.
Q.
How do you choose these men?
A. Select men who are respected
by the other men of the church and who will commit to an hour a week
for six weeks.
Q.
How do we get men into groups for the six-week follow-up?
A. Wait and our faculty member
will help you gather the men into groups at the event. As the men hear
the biblical principles and participate in discussions, they will be
more willing to join a six-week group. We train our faculty in appropriate
techniques for helping men get into groups. You can encourage the group
leaders to invite men they want to meet with to attend the event and
sit with them during discussions; but asking for a six-week commitment
before the event may actually keep men away.
Do
we have to use a small-group model for the six-week follow-up?
A. No. You may want to do
the six-week follow-up in a different setting such as a Sunday School
class, a leadership development meeting with the pastor, etc. The important
thing is to capture the momentum by getting men involved for six weeks
after the event.
Following
Up Your Event
Q.
When and where should the follow-up groups meet?
A. Try to have as much variety
as possible in the times and places of your small groups. Early morning
meetings at restaurants in the traffic flow of men going to work are
convenient for some men. You may also want to schedule some groups during
or after other meetings already going on at the church (youth group,
choir, training classes, etc.) The important thing is to offer enough
variety to give each man a realistic opportunity to choose to be involved
in the follow-up.
Q.
Do you have materials to help the follow-up group leaders prepare?
A. The questions for each
discussion are included in the Life
Plan. We also have a Study
Guide or books by Patrick Morley available for those who want additional
resources on each topic.
Q.
What should our men do after they complete the follow-up Life Plan?
A. You have plenty of options;
but decide early to be ready before the six-week program ends. Your
own denomination may have men's discipleship materials. We also have
a complete curriculum for men and can help you find resources from other
organizations as well.
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