My first encounter with the United Methodist Men was when I was 14 and I was the director of a children’s choir at my home church. The men voted to buy a set of rhythm instruments for my choir to enhance our program. It was quite an encouragement to me at that time. It was not until much later in life that I learned that the United Methodist Men’s goal was to be involved in Discipleship Ministries. They strive to organize men for ministry and outreach, especially to men but not limited to only men. They have many vital projects:
-Prayer Advocacy (Upper Room Prayer Center)
-Scouting Ministry (Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Campfire, 4-H)
-Mentoring children (Big Brothers and Big Sisters)
-Potato Project (gleaning small potatoes from farms and ship them to food banks)
-Hope for the Hearing (hearing aids for deaf children in Haiti)
-Bible Study
-Prison Ministry
-Athletic Ministries
-Strength for Service (devotional books and Bibles sent to our servicemen and servicewomen)
-Support of the children of incarcerated parents through “Amachi”
-Men’s convocation every 4 years
In addition many of our local units have additional kinds of local outreaches and ministries. Each unit has unique gifts and opportunities specific to its setting.
I wish that every church would have a United Methodist Men’s unit or if you have had one in the past that has become inactive, to get it started again. We are United Methodists. We have many wonderful programs and support systems to do many good works together. When we do our own thing separately we cannot be nearly as effective. RE-think United Methodist Men!
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