News by Jake LeFave
Our Men’s Discipleship Program is a year-long intensive program for men involving weekly meetings, assigned readings, one-on-one mentoring, and intentional times of retreat throughout the year.
As a church, we believe that men have been tasked with a uniquely influential role in their families, and in the church. While we seek to disciple all people, we believe that we can have exponential impact through the intentional, loving, and rigorous discipling of men.
This program will focus on training men in:
- Pursuing a whole-hearted devotion to Christ as we encounter Him in our Bible’s. You’ll notice that there is a lot of Bible reading in this program; that’s on purpose! Not only will we be reading God’s Word, both together and separately, but we’ll be learning how to be better and more faithful readers of His Word.
- Pursuing an intentional, honest, and courageous community with one another. Let’s break that down. We want to be an intentional community. If we are to grow in our love for one another it means showing up. It means doing the work assigned ahead of time. It means prayerfully considering how we might serve those The Lord has providentially put before us in this group. It will also mean, as Paul says in Ephesians 4:2, “bearing with one another in love.” Jesus told us that to love those who love you (or are like you or have the same hobbies as you) is nothing impressive. The real test of Christian community is loving those who are different than you, even aggravating (Matt. 5:46-47)!
Second, we are pursuing an honest community. To be honest with one another does mean sharing everything with everyone all the time. Disclosing our struggles and sins requires wisdom. But, my prayer, is that this is a group where men feel comfortable and safe enough to share the real struggles of their life that the very real Christ might bring real change!
Finally, we want to be a courageous community. Many men have been in groups before where people shared sin or a struggle but didn’t seek to apply the gospel, either in a call to repentance or in the assurance of sins forgiven. During our time together men will learn how to courageously call one another to more in Christ.
- Finally, we will pursue life as constructive members of our wider church community. Whether it’s at Community Group, on a Sunday morning Service Team, or serving in our respective communities, we want to grow as men who are serving for Jesus according to the gifts and opportunities that The Lord has given us. Our belief at Christ City is that true learning takes place as we ‘field-test’ the truth of God’s Word and learn how to contextualize its timeless truth in a timely way.
So, how do we do accomplish these three things? Below you’ll find the specific components of our Men’s Discipleship Program in detail.
Monday Night
Following our Community Group calendar, we’ll gather each Monday night at our Pandora St. offices for a simple meal, time spent studying God’s Word, a short lesson, and some prayer together. Participants will be expected to come to these evenings having spent time in the assigned texts (and answered the questions), as well as ensure they’ve completed any additional reading. Men will be expected to spend 3-4 hours each week in completing the homework and the reading. A list of all the additional books will be provided at the beginning of the program and are expected to be purchased by each man.
Small(er) Group Meetings
In addition to our Monday night meetings, you will be placed in a smaller group (ideally consisting of 3-4 people) with whom you’ll seek to meet either weekly or bi-weekly depending on availability. The goal of this group is simple: give an update as to how you’re doing and pray for one another! How often, where, and for how long these groups meet is at the discretion of each group.
Community Group
I want to encourage you to consider joining a Community Group in addition to being part of the Men’s Discipleship Program. I understand that not everyone will have margin to do this, but Community Group is a fantastic space to learn how to listen to and serve the church. Our hope is that the skills and intentionality you’ve picked up in this program, would serve any other groups you participate in.
Service Teams
If you’re not already part of a Service Team, it’s time to join one! To find out where our needs are you can email paul@christcitychurch.ca. We’ll take some time each Monday night to debrief with those who served the previous Sunday about what God is teaching them through service.
Additional Events
Throughout the year certain events might come up (Men’s Retreat, a conference, etc.) that might dovetail well with what we’re trying to accomplish as a group. My plan is to let you know about these events, explain the value of them to us as a group, but there is no expectation that you need to commit to attending them.
Applicants can notify Jake LeFave that their interested in being considered for the program by contacting him at jake@christcitychurch.ca. The deadline to apply for the Men’s Discipleship Program is June 30th 2024.