In December, City Church concluded its second annual Act Like Men course, seeing 150 men go through the 15-week program since its inception. The class takes place every Thursday at 6:00 AM with 95 participants and 30 leaders this year alone.
Chris Freeman, the lead pastor at City Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, first saw a need for this class when the church began to see an exponential growth in attendance. Many new congregants were young men, new to Christ, and hungry for discipleship. Thus, Act Like Men was born.
Pastor Chris says, “My goal really is just to come alongside these young men in our church and teach them how to be godly men.” As he searched, he couldn’t find material that met the unique needs of his young congregants, so he developed a curriculum that centered around integrity, discipline, servanthood, and biblical living. He and several congregants assembled the framework of this class, describing it as “building the plane as we were flying.”
Chris intentionally designed the class to meet at 6:00 a.m. and added a $100 charge to challenge young men to fully commit. The money is used to purchase Bibles, journals, and other materials for participants. “We’re wanting to make this a high bar on purpose,” Chris says.
Those who completed the 15 weeks hit the ground running with next steps like serving in church, tithing, and joining a small group.
Last year, one participant shared about his struggling marriage. Halfway through the course, he felt a strong conviction to go home and wash his wife’s feet. He apologized and recommitted to being the husband he vowed to be. Today, their marriage is going strong. This young man has since presented the Act Like Men class to his home church so others can start being discipled.
To date, around 10 churches have adopted the curriculum and implemented the material to reach their own young men. A women’s course has also launched at City Church called Be Bold Women.
