Men's ministry sharing faith through shared interests

SULLIVAN

BONIFAY (FBC)—Crouched in the woods, waiting for a deer to come into range, a man has the courage to share his faith along with his love for the outdoors.

For four years, the "Outdoor Unlimited" ministry at First Baptist Church of Bonifay has been helping men share their faith in settings oriented to their interests.

"It is a passion of my heart to use the things I love to do to reach men in the community for Christ," said Jeep Sullivan, associate pastor.

"Outdoors Unlimited" utilizes archery tournaments, fishing tours, skeet and wild game shoots, hunter's safety programs with the Florida Wildlife Commission and golfing as opportunities to spread a gospel witness.

"Our ministry has really helped the men of our church to go from being a brotherhood that meets once a month to thinking and understanding that we have to do things together to reach the men of today," said Sullivan.

"It has helped men to be confident in that they can do the things they love and use them to share the Gospel."

It is the philosophy of this ministry that if they reach the father of a household with the Gospel message, they will have a higher probability of reaching the entire family and keeping them plugged-in in church.

The events are geared toward men who are mostly "nominal Christians, who come to church but do not read the Bible and are not involved," said Sullivan. "This ministry brings us in beside them and gives us an opportunity to befriend them. We can then disciple them and help them to become the Christians they can be."

Outdoors Unlimited has helped men form relationships with other men who would have never connected otherwise. As a result, they are forming lasting friendship and are able to call upon each other in times of need.

The men's ministry has seen over 100 spiritual decisions made since it began with at least a quarter of them for salvation.

Sullivan's ministry has become a great demand, he was recently named Florida's chairman for St. Jude's Children's Hospital and helped the Memphis-based hospital conduct a turkey hunt for infirmed children. He was also invited to Missouri to be a turkey hunt guide in April.

While First Bonifay is in a more rural area, many of the activities can easily be adapted to urban settings, said Sullivan. "Florida has always been an agricultural, hunting and fishing state. This ministry is something that appeals to many of the people who live in the state and takes advantage of the beautiful Florida weather."

The ministry of Outdoors Unlimited will be shared at the iTell State Evangelism Conference March 2-4 at the First Baptist Church of Orlando.