Men’s Fellowship: A Fisher of Men

Our mission: St. David’s Men’s Fellowship is dedicated to creating opportunities for men to develop vital friendships, personal integrity, and profound Christ-centered growth.

It is amazing to realize that after 20 years this group is still going strong. The first Men’s Fellowship event was a breakfast in February of 2001. It all started with a simple request from The Rev. Frank Allen asking if we could do something for the men. Once we got started, Frank Allen gave us freedom to create and manage the organization ourselves. This is a great example of the parable of the mustard seed in action.

After that first breakfast a group of men came together, including myself, who met every Sunday for nine months to work out what the organization was going to do; and what it was going to be called. The issue of the name centered around whether it should be called a Fellowship or a Ministry. The question was, would we look like a country club or a spiritual group? In the end, we decided to call it a Fellowship, believing it would attract more men to join the group. What has happened over the last 20 years is that we gained more than any of us could have hoped for, both organizationally and spiritually.

It turns out that the church is the perfect environment to create a Men’s Fellowship. By following the principles taught to us by Jesus, we have the best roadmap for success. He told us to love our neighbor as we would ourselves, to be forgiving and to be honest. I believe our strength comes from being a place where we can discover our gifts and use them for the betterment of the entire community. Additionally, the men’s group is where we can be renewed and try again; where we can forgive and be forgiven; and where we can learn to be better men, better husbands and better fathers. The only requirement for admission is to show up.

Today, we have a core group of over 250 men. We have been hosting one of our major activities, the monthly Saturday Breakfast, for 10 months out of the year for 20 years working out to 200 breakfasts. The Men’s Friday morning Bible Study started roughly around 2003 and have met every Friday since then amounting to over 884 meetings. We held the first Men’s Retreat in 2004, which was filled with a weekend of personal and spiritual growth. We have conducted 16 retreats overall. I believe the important thing is not only that we have done these events, but that we are involved in many other aspects of the church, providing support and leadership.

This is an environment where we can build lasting friendships based on trust and personal integrity. A place where men can openly discuss issues that are important to their lives, support one another and be themselves, while having fun along the way.

In the future it will be the dedication of our members and the support of The Rev. Frank Allen and other clergy that will keep us strong.