Challenge 1 Master the Essentials of Biblical Manhood
Run the Play

This first challenge in The Journey is designed to provide an overview for participants. It introduces your men to the basic characteristics of a godly man. These are the same ideas they will be exploring in more detail during the rest of The Journey.

The "Run the Play" option makes the Plan portion of the challenge simple - most of the planning is already done for you! The resources for the Run the Play version of Challenge 1 are:

Create Value event: Success That Matters

Capture Momentum small group resource: Success That Matters Life Plan (included with event)

Sustain Change curriculum: The Man in the Mirror book or The Man in the Mirror REMIX CD series

Celebrate event: Men's dinner

Stride 1: Plan & Assess

 For Challenge 1, Run the Play, most of the planning is done for you, but you'll still need to decide what date to kick-off your challenge, whether to use a Man in the Mirror speaker or your own, and whether you want the Sustain step to last 6, 12, or 24 weeks.

Then you're ready to print the Faith & Life Objectives cards, using the downloadable, editable template provided, and the pre-challenge Asssessment form. Be sure to have one of each for EVERY man in the church. Establish a distribution plan and recruit new leaders to be on the team for this challenge, using the recruiting tools in the JBM notebook.

Determine the activities you'll implement to make the challenge "all-inclusive" - every man should be able to participate, even if he doesn't attend an event or join a small group. We provide ideas in the notebook that are specific to each challenge, under "Make It All-Inclusive."

The Make It All-Inclusive suggestions for this challenge are:

• Challenge every man to plan a date night for his wife and give her a hand-written letter about what he cherishes about her. Have guys share their plans with each other!

• Plan a one-day "Test Your Manhood" service project - be creative and make it a fun day with barbeque lunch or a bonfire afterward. Build a house with Habitat for Humanity, paint and fix up the home of a widow in the church, wash the cars of single moms, do yard work for the seniors, or anything else that brings the men together to actively serve the community.
  

• Have the pastor email all the men, using excerpts from the free article "Hindrances to Transformation" or "Seven Tips to Develop Your Own Bible Reading Plan." Invite every man in the church to schedule daily time in God's Word. To build camaraderie, add in a team aspect to the challenge - the Early Birds vs. the Night Owls, for example. Have guys in both categories keep each other accountable.
  

Once your team has finished the planning, distribute the Faith & Life Objectives and Assessments.

Stride 2: Create Value

 The Create Value event for Challenge 1, Run the Play, is the Success That Matters seminar. This six-hour event can be done on a Friday night/Saturda morning or all day Saturday. It can be presented by a Man in the Mirror speaker, or you may use your own speaker(s). It is designed to be a break-even event for the church; you set the ticket cost and it should pay for itself. The material covered introduces men to the basic themes that are introduced throughout Challenge 1.

During this phase of the challenge, your team is scheduling the event, customizing your promo plan using the guide in the JBM notebook, reading No Man Left Behind as a leadership team, and aiming to personally invite every man in the church. You're also preparing for the Capture step by asking men to lead six-week follow-up groups. We provide you with a complete timeline and step-by-step instructions for this process in the notebook.

Once your follow-up group leaders are in place and the promo plan has been completed, kick-off Challenge 1 with the event!

Stride 3: Capture Momentum

 The Capture Momentum resource for Challenge 1, Run the Play, is the Success That Matters Life Plan, a six-week study booklet designed to be attractive to men who have never been in a small group, and to get guys talking with each other. These Life Plans are included with the event.

BEFORE men leave the event, they will join follow-up groups; we provide detailed instructions for this process in the JBM notebook. The groups should start the week after the event; invite ALL the men in the church to join, not just those who attended the event. Have group leaders give a Faith & Life Objectives card and pre-challenge Assessment to any man who doesn't already have them.

Continue to implement your All-Inclusive strategies to involve men who aren't directly participating in the groups. During this time, you'll also prepare for your Sustain step by ordering the chosen curriculum and securing group leaders. Feel free to modify the existing groups as needed, recruit new leaders, or combine groups into larger groups.

 Stride 4: Sustain Change

 The Sustain Change curriculum for Challenge 1, Run the Play, is The Man in the Mirror - either as a book or video study. Choose whether to make it a 6, 12, or 24-week study; we provide chapter suggestions for each option in the JBM notebook.

The Sustain groups should seamlessly start as the Capture groups end; however, you may choose to reform, add, or combine groups as needed. Invite ALL the men in the church to join the Sustain groups.

During this time period of the challenge, give men an opportunity to put what they're learning into action. Advertise these opportunities church-wide, not just to men involved in the study! We offer suggestions in the Use Your "Hands" section of the notebook. For this challenge, they are:

• Give guys who aren't participating in group studies a chance to be a part of Challenge 1 with individual study. Post a link on the church website or email a link to the online Man in the Mirror REMIX video series - available for free for streaming or downloading. 

• Encourage all men in the church to enter into one-on-one accountability relationships. Print out or email excerpts from the article "How to Have an Accountable Relationship" to lay the groundwork and then distribute Accountability Cards (free except the cost of shipping). Focus on pairing up men who may not be directly participating in the challenge but are plugged in elsewhere - the ushers, the choir or worship band, men in FPU or Crown classes, college-aged youth leaders, parking attendants, etc.
  

Near the end of the Sustain step, distribute the post-challenge Assessment to every man in the church. If possible, keep the forms of men who directly participated separate from the forms of those who did not. Instruct men to complete it based on how they are living their lives recently.

Stride 5: Evaluate & Celebrate

 This is the home stretch - never skip the end of the challenge! This final phase helps you determine and celebrate what God has done in men's lives. The celebration gathering for Challenge 1, Run the Play, is a men's dinner. As you plan the dinner, thank your leadership team and emphasize how God has used them to impact the church.

Collect all post-challenge Assessments, create a simple report of the results, and share them with your pastor and leadership team. Ask the leaders of the Capture and Sustain groups for the names of some men who they think have particularly benefitted from the challenge. Ask those men to share their story with you or another leader - either by email, web cam or in person. Invite a few of them to share at the dinner.

We'll offer a few celebration "hardware" ideas in case you want to present the men with something to mark the completion of Challenge 1. Then plan your dinner. Incorporate humor, testimony, and competition into the evening. Be creative! Have the male teenagers in the church serve dinner or ask the leadership team to grill out. Most importantly, invite ALL the men in the church to attend.

Celebrate together and remind men of the Faith & Life Objectives. Unveil the next challenge and ask men, "Who's missing?" Encourage them to invite others to join The Journey from OUTSIDE the church!