5 The themes of this passage outline that a disciple is: called (wise for salvation), equipped (teaching, reproof, correction, training…equipped) and sent (for every good work). Just as these themes describe a disciple, they also describe a successful Area Director here at Man in the Mirror. Every member of our team is called to work with churches and leaders to help disciple men. Our Area Directors tend to be veterans of men’s discipleship. Whether they have experience planning monthly breakfasts and annual retreats, leading a men’s small group, or even being a pastor with a heart for men, God has called and prepared them for ministry. They go through a thorough screening process, including interviewing with existing Area Directors. At the end of that process, they are formally offered—called to—a position on the team. Once called, all of our team members receive extensive training to be equipped for two primary functions. First, to establish a local Coalition for Men’s Discipleship, with an Advisory Council, target area, budget and funding. Using proven principles, our Area Directors build a team of partners to provide prayer, financial support and counsel to their ministry efforts. Second, they are equipped to work with church leaders to implement a proven system for men’s discipleship, No Man Left Behind (NMLB). The NMLB model has been shown to increase the number of men in church and the number of men engaged in discipleship by 48% and 84% respectively! Armed with this support, knowledge and skill, our Area Directors are then sent out into the field. In 2016, this group of dedicated men reported working 1,416 churches, who would then disciple 21,240 new men, impacting their marriages, families, neighborhoods, workplaces and churches. Imagine the influence this will have on our culture! F.A.T. Men The next hallmark of a Man in the Mirror Area Director is that he is a F.A.T. man: faithful, available, and teachable. In 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul admonishes Timothy, what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. Man in the Mirror Area Directors are faithful men. They work diligently to nurture relationships with their ministry partners, communicating with them as they pray and underwrite the ministry. They are faithful to connect with team members in their region for encouragement, learning and prayer. And they maintain relationships with as many church leaders as they can, helping them learn and grow personally as those men lead their church’s men’s discipleship efforts. They must make themselves available as well. Being an Area Director is usually a full time job (though some do it part time or occasionally on a volunteer basis). Many men’s discipleship activities happen outside of normal work hours. The benefit of this is often daytime hours to spend with family, so that they can then spend an evening with a leadership team or a weekend helping a church run a men’s conference. Finally, Area Directors are constantly learning best practices from our extensive training programs, their team leaders and even church leaders. Every man must be teachable, or he will miss out on opportunities to maximize his impact for the Kingdom. Some have never run their own “business” before, and so they must learn to manage a home office, submit reports and expenses, and correspond with donors and leaders Do You Have What It Takes? continues on page 60 ▶
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