Friday, March 29, 2024

Ministry aims to build godly men worldwide

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While men in America often have opportunities to become involved in church ministries and fellowship groups, that same opportunity is often lacking in other countries.

Brad Smith, the founder and executive minister of Men of Valor International, recently visited Gatesville and talked about the importance of ministering to men outside America, and the positive impact it can make on families and societies. Smith spoke to a men's Bible study on May 18 and then at the Gatesville Lions Club on May 24 to share his thoughts and vision.

A resident of Virginia and member of Centerville Baptist Church, Smith's ministry focuses on encouraging involvement by men in the church internationally.

"Generally, in the United States there is something going on at church for men," he said. "Often there are very few church activities for men outside the country."

He spoke of Christian churches in India in which programs were devoted almost exclusively to women because they were the ones attending church. But Smith reasoned that if more programs were devoted to men, they too would be much more likely to become involved in church.

"There are things we can teach them about God and about the importance of being a godly father and husband," he said. "At the 15-year point in my ministry I learned there is very little going on in men's ministry outside the country. It was in overseas missions that I learned, grew and had rubber-meets-the-road Christianity."

Men of Valor is devoted to topics such as "what is a good father and what is a godly husband and why men need the Lord in their lives," Smith said. "It's important that men know their identity in Christ and their strength in Christ.

"There are 900 churches in the northeast corner of India, and they are populated predominantly by women." He said he asked church leaders there why they didn't have programs for men.

"They said,' it's not that we don't know the Bible, it's that we don't know how to teach it specifically to men,'" Smith said. Bridging that gap and providing lesson plans and a foundation for men's ministries is a primary focus of Men of Valor.

"We try to reach and build men," Smith said. He added that lessons are recorded and provided to church leaders.

"As of today, we're on five continents and 25 countries and have had 55 conferences," he said. "This is a huge issue. The fun of this is we're only jumpstarting men's discipleship conferences and it's making a big difference. Men are starting more and more to follow the word of God as they should be. It's making a difference in families and in communities. We give them a Bible in their language and a Bible study program.

"Men who have gone to our conferences are now elders, pastors and church planters. We're really excited about this, and it's all about the Lord doing this."

The ministry is dedicated toward leading people to salvation, Smith said.

In Malawi, we had 1,500 men come to Christ," he said. "We teach Biblical manhood where it hasn't been taught before, encouraging men to provide servant leadership in their homes and communities and applying Biblical principles.

"It is leading men to become more involved and more engaged with their families. We teach them, 'You can be a Mighty Man of Valor, too.'"

One man told Smith that he used to act harshly and be authoritarian toward his wife, and that God has softened his heart so that he is a friend, helper and encourager to her. 

Smith said programs have ministered to me in Kenya, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nicaragua, Mexico, Indonesia and elsewhere. There are plans to visit Peru this month and minister to men in prison, and other missions planned to Haiti and Montenegro.

"In 2023, we're a very active ministry, and there's a number of opportunities we are discussing in different countries."

He encouraged more American churches to support men's ministries outside the U.S.

"There are four ways to partner with us," Smith said. "People can come along, speak, pray and give. The bottom line is we are changing families and communities by changing men. We also recently put out a book, 'Living as a Man of Valor.'"

For more information about the ministry, visit menofvalor.org or call 1-844-MEN-VALR.