Inside the daily grind of life, we are hearing and seeing a focus and intensity rolling across our culture where men of faith are digging their heels into the battle ground and daring evil to cross the line. In our search to find, encourage, and promote men who are doing their part to Live|Bold, we came across Ryan Reeves at Menofjesus.org .   A few weeks ago I was listening to one of my favorite online radio stations, ChristianRock.net and came across a small banner advertisement for Men of Jesus. Intrigued, because I’m a man and I am very fond of Jesus Christ, I clicked the link to see what was up… and I was encouraged.  A few emails of introduction and a conversation later, Live|Bold sat down with Ryan Reeves to find out more about his ministry.

LB: First of all Ryan, tell us about your desire to reach into men’s ministry.  What brought you to that point?

RR: I found Jesus when I was 14 years old, a freshman at Immanuel High School in Reedley, Ca. I wasn’t raised in the Church and wasn’t even supposed to go to a Christian school butGod had other plans. Soon after meeting our Lord I was blessed with several men around me who mentored me and encouraged me in my faith and life. Those men challenged me to become a leader in my school and in my Church. Through them God began to light a fire in my heart for leadership that has been burning since.

LB: And this led you down a path of ministry?  How did you come to the point of “going for it”.

RR: Fast forward several years and I was engrossed in a career in retailmanagement, I had a good job running a handful of stores in Saint Louis for a wireless company. I was sitting in a meeting in Tulsa where we were being trained on Appreciative Inquiry (a concept which teaches growth based on looking at the positives) and while I was really enjoying my job and the training; I knew that I needed to be doing something else with my life. That night I went back to my room and began to take a hard look at who I was and how I should be using my life in service to our Lord. While I was working with that company I had gained a reputation for developing the talent on my team. As I was taking stock of my life and my faith it became clear to me. I loved developing people; I was just developing the wrong ones. I needed to spend my time and energy in the same way as the men who helped me when I was
younger. I knew then I needed to invest myself in developing followers of Christ. Through that discovery; Men of Jesus was born.

LB: Tell us more about Men of Jesus (MOJ).  How do men of faith interact?

RR: Men of Jesus is a social networking site for Christian men. We provide a great place online for men to come together for fellowship, encouragement and growth. In addition to our active forums where guys discuss everything in life; we have an ongoing Bible study where we go through a chapter of scripture every day. Those are a great way for our guys to get into the Word of God. We are currently working on a sexual integrity program that we hope to re-launch before the end of November and we also hope to launch a leadership development program in 2010.

LB: As with any ministry effort, getting started is tough and keeping it going forward is even harder.  How have you responded to those challenges?

RR: As much as I hate to admit it; our biggest challenge for now is finding the finances we need to grow. Right now we are really just getting going and so we are focused on growing our community of men. We know we have to do that before we can jump into some of the other things we want to able to do. Growth takes advertising and as we all know advertising is not cheap. Until this point Men of Jesus has been funded almost solely by myself which; only gets us so far. We are currently working on a few options to generate operating revenue. I’m confident that as we grow we will find a way to make it happen. All it’s going to take is a lot of faith and a little out of the box thinking.

LB: Let’s say you get those funds, what do you want men of faith to hear from MOJ?

RR: The motto for Men of Jesus is “Followers leading our world”.  We want MOJ members to grow in their relationship with Christ. We have already seen some amazing results with men whose lives are being changed. That’s what we are really about. We need to become better followers of Christ before we will become better leaders.

LB: What kind of advice can you give to other men out here on the battle field who are trying to be Men of Jesus?

RR: There is glory in the struggle. I praise God for men who are willing to fight. The world wants you to lie down and die or give up on God. When you are willing to fight to find God you are really saying something and you are bringing Him glory. I would say to them keep fighting the good fight and don’t do it alone. Come and get some support. We’ve got willing men to fight beside you at Men Of Jesus.

LB: Amen brother!  Thank you for talking with us and sharing your vision Ryan.  Together we can make a difference in our world.  We are grateful for your willingness to Live|Bold.

RR: Thanks for helping to spread the word.

You can find more information about Men of Jesus:  menofjesus.org .  Join the site, it’s free, and begin participating in the discussion of faith, leadership, and God’s word.
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