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Editor’s Note: Click here to read the first installment of “When Random Acts Of Kindness Aren’t Enough”

ReformationUCC: It’s been said that the biggest problems in our society today revolve around the absence of the father in the home. How does New Commandment Men’s Ministry help address that issue? Do you have any examples, for instance of how having a team of men help a single mom make up in some ways for the absence of a father?

Herb Reese (”HR”): I have examples that are too numerous to tell. Having godly men serving in a single mother’s home for two hours every month is a wonderful mentoring opportunity for children. Single moms often tell me how healing it is to have a team in their home, not only for the children, but also for them as well.

ReformationUCC: What’s your favorite success story about churches involved in this ministry - and if it’s two hard to choose, just give us a few more for us to consider!

HR:I just had Adrian Boykin, the men’s ministry leader of Calvary Church in Boulder, Colorado, call me yesterday to say that this Saturday the would be celebrating their fourth anniversary. They started with four teams and now they have eight. Soon they will be adding a ninth. They are serving thirteen care receivers and some of their teams are beginning to work with the neighbors of care receivers.

“I sat down and watched the (training) DVD again,” Adrian said. “And everything you said about Christ’s love being so much more than just kind gestures is so right on.”

I receive many stories like that.

ReformationUCC: Can you describe the average man participating in this ministry? Is he a Ph.D. Bible Student? Can he tear a car engine apart and put it back together while blindfolded? Is he rich with lots of money to give away? Does he have oodles of free time? What misconceptions stand in the way of men participating in this ministry?

HR:There are no average men involved in this ministry. It runs the entire spectrum. There is a team at First Baptist Church in Quincy, Illinois, that is made up of three physicians and the son of a physician. There’s a team at Christ Community Church in Greeley, Colorado, that has a member who is wheelchair bound. One church in Corvallis, Oregon, has a team with a blind man on it!

Team members do not have to have any skills. Men with a particular skill that is needed for a project can be borrowed from others teams.

ReformationUCC: When a church starts this ministry, does it detract from other ministries in the church?

HR: I’ve never heard of that happening. Most men are not real involved in church anyway. And after a few months of receiving this ministry, the care receivers often volunteer to serve the church in other ways. So it winds up energizing the church. One pastor said it like this, “I used to have to beg and plead to get men to take the offering and pass out bulletins. Now they’re eager to do it.”

ReformationUCC: How much does it cost to get a ministry like this started? Are there any ongoing costs?

HR:The training DVD costs $70. So a church can start this ministry for as little as that. If they want to purchase workbooks that go along with the DVD, they’re $7 each. There are no ongoing costs.

ReformationUCC: Thanks, Pastor Reese, for several things… your willingness to visit with us and your commitment to men’s ministry. I hope any of our readers who are interested in men’s ministry will purchase the DVD introducing your work and present it to their church. It’s strength is in putting men to work, not simply giving them more information that - sadly - often goes unused.

It should go without saying that the ability to start a ministry with such a great potential impact for the price of a training video is incredible… Thank you again for your time.
Visit New Commandment Men’s Ministry’s order page to obtain the DVD and start putting men to work in Christ’s Kingdom.