NASHVILLE, Tenn., 3/22/11— If you want to get guys into Bible study, don’t get all touchy-feely. Guys don’t like that. They like guy stuff … like football and fast cars.
Stephen Howard from Riverbluff Church in North Charleston, S.C., gets that.
He led a class for 15 men through “Game Plan for Life” by Joe Gibbs, Super Bowl-winning coach and NASCAR owner.
The guys knew and respected Gibbs, so they were willing to join in.
Howard said every element of the study spoke to most of the men in his church.
“Each one enjoyed the talk by Joe Gibbs, and they also liked the experts and their take on each element,” Howard said. “We also enjoyed the shorter video time to provide a deeper small group discussion time.”
The “Game Plan for Life” study provided a great avenue to get men talking about some of the challenges that men deal with every day, Howard added.
“The connection of football and NASCAR grabs men’s interest and makes them feel relaxed and comfortable enough to talk about elements that they face every day,” he said.
Howard also said small-group Bible studies like “Game Plan for Life” encourage stronger men’s ministries.
“I believe that men’s ministry is important to help good men be better men,” he said. “We need to stand together and battle together. Men’s ministry leads to a strong spiritual family. It also helps them find accountability partners and develop a group of men they can rely on to help them through the hard times.”
Riverbluff Pastor Curt Bradford agreed. “[Game Plan for Life] is a great discipling idea. It brings together great Christian minds using sports to present Christian truth to guys.”
by Kelly Shrout
