#2 Initiative and enterprise

So whilst this would perhaps be more situated on your CV when you’re applying for a job the question is; what’s this sort of thing got to do with a blog to Christian men?

At CVM we have partnered with us loads of men’s groups and guys on the ground that are continually creating incredible ways to connect with men and facilitate relationships and environments to share Jesus. We love it! They range from fishing groups, 4×4 guys to quiz masters and maybe the odd fruit tea-drinking group. (odd group not blokes of course!) The exciting thing about these groups is that together we are constantly operating with initiative and to a certain degree some enterprise.

Now, whilst these terms might conjure up some business models in our heads, we can see their impacts outside of that too! Thinking outside the box, creating possibilities, new ideas and resourcefulness. Being able to move past fears and limitations and challenge models and systems that might perhaps have been in place for years but just aren’t working.

If we equate that over to the church, to our men’s groups, to the churches vision on reaching out to men with the good news of Jesus it can start to get exciting! I was on my way to church the other day and a mate of mine in his 4×4 drove by on his way to a quarry for the day off-roading, and shouted out ‘hey mate, I’m just off to my church! You should come sometime!’
If we want to reach out to these guys we need to get creative and CVM’s strategy for winning men helps us to do that.

If we wanted to wrap this idea of initiative and enterprise up spiritually I think it would be called ‘Apostolic’ and we need loads of it. Take a look through Acts in your Bible and see the way the first group of disciples had this apostolic equipping. Stuff happened around them, when they showed up they made mistakes of course, but they looked around them, and engaged the crowds, they created gospel opportunities and boldly enabled people to hear about Jesus. That’s exciting and I think we can do that today in our towns, cities and villages.

I was once told as an young pastor finding my way in a new church, ‘just open the doors on a Sunday and preach the gospel, people will come.’ Well guess what, they didn’t……new ideas, bold moves forward were needed and still are today. We have the incredible, life changing good news of Jesus and our investment in enabling men to hear and encounter this news is essential. Perhaps if your reading this and you’re a church leader, how much of your website, newsletters/pray bulletins or services will engage men in the community? How much budget is assigned to reaching men in the community? Have you ever come across a church with a full time men’s worker? Interesting stuff hey?