CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), hopes to start and engage men's ministry programs in up to 975 congregations by putting the "Master Builders Bible for Men" into the hands of six men in each of those congregations. In January LMM is distributing up to 5,800 Bibles to ELCA congregations across the United States and Caribbean.
"The plan is to identify 15 congregations in each of our 65 synods," said Douglas Haugen, LMM director, with priority given to new and developing congregations.
LMM is prepared to give Bibles to six men in each of those congregations, he said, with the understanding that those six men will study the "Men's Ministry Leaders Supplement" -- a 32-page section at the front of each Bible -- and use it to start a men's ministry program in their congregation.
"We believe, if they follow that section step by step in their congregation, it will help them build the foundation for a very effective men's ministry," said Haugen.
Leaders in each synod will maintain contact with those who received a Bible, creating a network of men's ministry leaders across the synod, said Haugen. By the end of March, all the Bibles should have been delivered and a network of thousands of men formed across the ELCA, he said.
Now in its second edition, about 13,500 copies of the Master Builders Bible for Men are already in circulation, said Haugen. LMM published the Bibles in cooperation with Serendipity House Publishers, Littleton, Colo.
The Bible program would not be possible without the generosity of individual donors, he said. Doug Larson, real estate investor, Menomonie, Wis., and Bill Sapp, truck stop owner, Omaha, Neb., were principal donors in the effort, said Haugen.
In addition to the New International Version of the Bible, each hard-bound book includes about 20,000 questions written into study notes "designed to help men build relationships within their groups as well as to get to know God better," said Haugen.
"The style of small-group Bible study that you have in the Master Builders Bible is really non-defensive. People are not going to be there and be embarrassed because they don't have the right answer," said Haugen. "It's set up in a way that it opens doors to relationships," he said. -- -- --
The Lutheran Men in Mission home page is at http://www.elca.org/LMM/ on the ELCA Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
