ELCA NEWS SERVICE
February 1, 2006
Lutheran Men in Mission Ships Thousands of Bibles to Men's Ministries 06-015-FI
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), shipped nearly 6,000 Bibles in January to the organization's representatives in the church's 65 synods, according to Doug Haugen, LMM director. Each synod will be able to use six Bibles in each of 15 congregations to start or restart men's ministries.
LMM placed almost 6,000 copies of "The Master Builders Bible for Men," featuring a Men's Ministry Leaders Supplement, into the hands of six men in each of about 1,000 ELCA congregations in 2002 and 2003, Haugen said. The supplement is a 32-page, step-by- step guide to help congregational leaders build an effective men's ministry.
The Master Builders Bible for Men is a special edition of the Serendipity Bible, which is designed to facilitate small- group study of the Bible in ways that are not threatening for the novice and yet challenging for the veteran student.
"This effort was so successful a few years ago, that we have made a commitment to start 1,000 new men's ministries a year for the next three years by distributing the Master Builders Bible for Men to leaders," Haugen said.
An LMM representative in each ELCA synod will pick 15 congregations to receive complimentary Bibles. Up to six leaders in each congregation will be given Bibles to assist them in their men's ministry. Additional copies of The Master Builders Bible for Men are available through Augsburg Fortress, the ELCA's publishing ministry.
"We have found that this is a great way for our synod leaders to connect with congregational men's ministry leaders," Haugen said, urging any interested ELCA congregation to contact its synod LMM representative.
The Bible distribution program has been good for LMM, Haugen said. "We have become known for our Bible, and that's a great thing to be known for," he said.
But Haugen is quick to add that the program is a greater benefit for the men, the congregations and the whole church. "When men encounter Christ through an effective men's ministry, every area of congregational life benefits," said an LMM promotion.
The program was made possible through donations from individual men and from congregational and synod men's ministries. -- -- --
The Lutheran Men in Mission home page is at
http://www.ELCA.org/LMM/ on the ELCA Web site. The "contact us" page includes a list of synod LMM representatives.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog