FOLLOWING LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND

Right now, as you promote the Promise Keepers LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND Event, your team needs to be planning the next step. To be ready to present the follow up event to your men at the conclusion of FUEL, the planning and promotional material has to be done now.

Why A Follow Up Event?

A lot of effort and resources are invested into any Event like LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND to motivate men to get involved. If the momentum generated is not captured by a follow up event, then that investment is squandered. Without that momentum, the next big event will take pretty much the same effort to make successful because you will be starting again from scratch. Planning to build on the success of LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND is logical and good stewardship of resources. An overview of the “create, capture, sustain” cycle is on the “Man in the Mirror” website: http://www.maninthemirror.org/img/graph.swf

The Next Step

You need to evaluate what type of “next step” events best suit your men and your church.

Basic Follow Up Events:

Sunday Testimony Service: Give the guys an opportunity to express what God has done in their lives at FUEL, travelling with the group, at home, etc. Remember that once a man has publicly testified to what has happened and the decisions he has made, he is far more likely to follow through on those decisions. Wives and family members may also wish to comment.

Men’s Small Groups: These are the foundation blocks of your Men’s Ministry. Aim to involve more men by ensuring there are options to join groups. A “trial period” involving say a short study series (e.g. 6 weeks) gives time for men to get used to the group environment, assess the benefits they receive and also allows them a natural exit point at the end of the series if the group is not working out for them.

More ambitious follow up events are:

Men’s Breakfast: Use a normal men’s breakfast event to focus on what happened at PK and then where you are going with the Men’s Ministry in the near future. Promote Men’s Small Groups. At the breakfast remember to advise the men of the next event.

Men’s Camp: An option where men are ready to go deeper. A camp may be too late in year if following North Island LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND Events. If you use the men’s camp option you should also offer a lightweight alternative such as a breakfast. At the camp, remember to advise the men of the next event.

The obvious conclusion is that your basic men’s calendar needs to be planned 12 to 18 months out. This allows you to see the mix and flow of events so that there is a natural progression.

The Promise Keepers Event is a big one on the calendar and definitely needs a follow up strategy to avoid loss of heart by the men. This can happen if they come home fired up but then get frustrated by a lack of activity for men at church. The church is where men will work out the process of keeping promises and growing in biblical manhood.