Yesterday, I had the pleasure to visit an inter-denominational lunchtime, hour-long, weekly gathering of about 150 men at the YMCA in Kokomo, Indiana.  They usually distribute some kind of free lunch and eat it during a talk that is meaningful to men on some level.

The format was simple:

12:05–announcements
12:10-12:30–a speaker who delivers an address relevant to men
12:30-12:50–discussion around tables
12:50–table leader prays and goes

I was impressed because “The Huddle” was a time that was not any particular church, but had a Christian spiritual focus.  The speakers are different each week and are a mix of laymen and pastors; the speaker, Pastor Randy Blankenship of New Life Church in Kokomo was clear, simple, engaging and relevant.  It made me think that if we could network among church and business leaders here in Lafayette, Indiana, this could be an effective strategy for reaching men for Jesus Christ.

They did it in under an hour, so men could get back to work by 1PM.  There was no offering, and it was an environment just about any man would find comfortable.

Many thanks to my friend Nate who took me and introduced me to his friend Rex who is a part of the board that runs “The Huddle”.   Nate doesn’t go to my church, but we are exploring ways to get this kind of initiative off the ground in Lafayette.  The way to make it happen is in a neutral building, in a setting that avoids divisive doctrinal or political issues.  Part of the genius of this idea is that it could reach across faith communities and cultural divides in our community.

To learn more about “The Huddle” in Kokomo, click here.  If you have an interest in working on this in Lafayette, please contact me through Facebook.