Providing connection helps grow men’s ministry at Sahuarita

As the men’s ministry at Common Ground Church in Sahuarita has grown, Pastor David Taylor wanted to provide more opportunities for the men in his church to connect.
The church’s men’s retreat January 23-25 is a big part of that.

Over coffee and at Catalina Association and Arizona Mission Network events, Taylor connected with Arizona Baptist Children’s Services & Family Ministries (ABCS) pastoral counselor Mike Hattabaugh, who shared the different ways ABCS supports churches, Taylor said.

When the church was given a package for 50 people to stay at the YMCA’s Triangle Y Camp and Retreat Center in Oracle, Taylor knew this was the perfect opportunity for a men’s retreat.

“The idea was to develop something that would be for our guys that we could invest in from a church perspective,” Taylor said. He envisioned a retreat that would encourage and disciple men and serve as “a shot in the arm to go further in other aspects of their lives.”

Because of Hattabaugh’s experience with Leader Care and counseling and ABCS’s emphasis on relational and emotional health, Taylor asked Hattabaugh to speak at the retreat.

“Mike is a local guy, a southern Arizona guy,” Taylor said. “Who knows what that connection could lead to if guys and their families need further help (after the retreat). The connection is already there locally.”

Pastor David Taylor (left) and Mike Hattabaugh are working together to plan a retreat for men from Taylor’s Common Ground Church in Sahuarita. Hattabaugh is a pastoral counselor at Arizona Baptist Children’s Services & Family Ministries and will be the speaker at the January retreat.

Arizona Baptist Children’s Services is often able to come alongside churches to offer expertise for men’s and women’s retreats, pregnancy center classes and more, Hattabaugh said.

In Tucson, ABCS offers counseling through New Life Counseling, as well as a resource center, foster care services, a pregnancy center and more. Sahuarita is about 30 minutes south of Tucson.
The retreat theme is wrapped around the concept of “Send Me,” Taylor said.

“I want to redefine what their idea of leadership is,” Hattabaugh said. “Leadership is not being the boss of your family. Leadership is being the servant of your family. … The greatest king in the world became a servant, and that’s what a leader does. How do we model that in our lives, family, church and work? That’s the core of why men’s ministry matters.”

Throughout the year, Common Ground typically has about two small groups for men running, in addition to occasional breakfast gatherings, cookouts and other fellowship opportunities. A men’s ministry team helps with the planning, and Taylor estimated that 30 to 40 men are involved in Common Ground’s men’s ministry.

Through the retreat and the partnership with Hattabaugh and ABCS, Taylor wants to help the men in his church to build relationships that encourage accountability.

“We want to get guys thinking about what it is they can leave behind that is holding them back and in Christ have the power to move forward,” Taylor said.

Johanna Willett, a freelance writer living in Tucson, is a member of Mountain View Baptist Church, Tucson.