Last March while traveling with Dr. Dan Iles in India where we were teaching together at a pastor’s conference, he mentioned that he would be willing to do a men’s retreat for us. At the time I had been thinking about issues (and frustrations) concerning men’s ministry. My dream was to have a men and boys retreat where we could learn and play together. I see this as sadly lacking in most men’s ministries. While they discuss and address serious issues men face, they don’t do a very good job at bringing the younger men and boys into their groups. I believe that needs to change so I mentioned my idea to Dan and he said he would be willing to lead the retreat. I am deeply grateful to Dan for he is the Education Director for Indigenous Ministries International and is a professor at Shasta Bible College in northern California.
So on January 6-7, 2012 Valley Baptist had our first men and boys retreat at our local camp, Mountaintop Retreat. Twenty five men and boys learned together ranging in ages from 8 to 70 years old. Dan taught on the measure of a man being godly, knowing his purpose and living out love from 1 Corinthians 13. One of our young men, Cory, who plans to attend Liberty University online this Fall said, “The speaker Dan Iles brought a refreshing look at the measure of a man and what it tells us in 1 Corinthians 13. Dan encouraged everyone to memorize that chapter of 1 Corinthians and keep those words at the forefront of all we do. Dan also talked about how having Christ in the forefront of our lives sheds a whole new light on how we not only look at things in our daily walk but how we nurture and grow in our relationships.”
I believe lives were transformed through Dan’s teaching, the fellowship and the fun we shared together. You might want to think about transforming your men’s ministry this way.
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