The absolutely least promoted service at Bible Baptist Church in Stillwater, Oklahoma, is also one of its most important services and largest percentage of attendance, as well as a vital part of our church’s backbone—and it’s completely led by laymen. It’s also the least common service among independent Baptist churches.

At 7:00 a.m. every Sunday, you will find 90–100 (over 90 percent) of our men and their sons gathered in the sanctuary. The service starts with a rousing a cappella hymn, followed by a 10-minute devotional from one of our men. Next comes a time for prayer requests that leads to breaking up as partners to pray for these requests and, most importantly, for God’s hand on our efforts to honor and to worship Him afresh that day. As the men finish praying, they make their way to the Activities Building to fellowship with each other over a full breakfast prepared by a team of ladies, who started at 6:00 that morning.

It’s early. It’s a lot of trouble. It costs money. It makes for a long day. However, it’s also essential to us because of the emphasis on prayer. Occasionally, I casually correct a member who calls the prayer meeting “Men’s Breakfast” or “Men’s Fellowship.” While different activities take place, the heartbeat of this meeting is prayer. The meeting appropriately is called “Men’s Prayer Meeting” (MPM).

I am not of the persuasion that every church is supposed to have one. However, I do believe that every church should give very strong consideration to it, if for no other reason than I would love every independent Baptist church to enjoy its benefits. What are those benefits? Why go to the trouble? Here are 11 reasons supporting it, along with some arguments against it.

1. Prayer sets an expectation level for Sunday. The core purpose of MPM is to pray for the services that day and our participation in them. We ask God to free our hearts from routine and to help us see Him afresh as we worship. Each ministry is inevitably brought before the Lord, as well as every guest who we know might be there. It is a chance to ask God’s blessing on the services conducted by the missionaries we’ve sent out and the men we’ve trained. It starts the Lord’s Day by professing our desire that He would receive all that He deserves.
2. Men bear each other’s burdens. The prayer requests provide an opportunity for men to be transparent about the burdens they carry and to seek other men to help lift them up through prayer. It is not uncommon for men to ask prayer for some weakness or challenge they’re facing. Men have an opportunity to share this in the limited company of their brothers in Christ.
3. We hear the heart of every man. The responsibility of bringing the devotional cycles through the majority of our men, giving the rest of us an opportunity to hear their testimonies or what God is doing in their lives. There are some fascinating testimonies about how men came to Christ or to our church, and others are challenged and encouraged through those stories. It also ensures that every man has an opportunity to become more comfortable speaking in front of people, while also identifying potential teachers for the future.
4. I’m able to address our men alone each week. While MPM is led solely by laymen, I take the last prayer request slot to talk to our men. It may be a 60-second prayer request, or it may be a reminder to sharpen up on something that is getting slack. I sometimes share my own personal burdens, just as I encourage them to do. There have even been times in which I’ve dealt with hard issues such as challenging the men to handle something with their wives and families so I don’t have to or to communicate certain details that I may prefer not to handle in the pulpit that day. For me, it is an extremely valuable time to talk just to our men every week.
5. It serves as outreach and hospitality for guests. It is quite common for a guest to start coming to MPM before he or his family ever joins our church. It makes a convincing statement to him to see most of the men coming that early on Sunday to focus on the day. It also helps him to break the ice by having a casual time to get to know other men. It is rare that a man comes to MPM who doesn’t end up becoming a part of our church.
6. Men have concentrated fellowship over a meal. Our men need to be together, and this provides a weekly opportunity. A meal enables our men to spend some concentrated time together. It is informal, and the conversations may be about the services, their work that past week, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, or a variety of other topics. It’s a fun and loud time for the men to realize how much they love each other’s company. It isn’t for ladies, and it isn’t for families. It is for men, and our ladies respect that fact and the desire their husbands and sons have for that fellowship.
7. MPM makes an indelible impression on our sons. Every one of our boys who come has an imprint on his mind that he’ll likely never forget. They grow up watching the majority of our faithful men give an early morning 52 times out of the year to bow before God and to admit how much we desire Him to be in our services. Occasionally, our bus workers and children’s workers pick up a few bus kids and bring them to MPM where they have a rare opportunity to see that many real men in one place.
8. MPM prepares the spirit of the men long before Sunday School. Without MPM, all family members come into Sunday School as their first service, and it often feels like it. It is not as uncommon as we think for families to have arguments while getting ready for or heading to church. MPM enables the hearts of our men to have already been prepared for the services. They’ve already tackled the challenge of shedding inferior thoughts so they can place their focus on the Lord and others.
9. The meal provides a unique opportunity for our ladies. There are three teams of 6–8 ladies and girls who serve for two months twice a year. They start before 6:00 a.m. preparing eggs, bacon, ham, biscuits, gravy, and whatever else they decide to throw in that day. Many younger girls get valuable lessons in preparing meals, especially for that large a group, which equips them for other church events down the road. This involves mother-daughter teams at times. It is a blessing that this is entirely led by members, and there’s little to no challenge finding ladies to volunteer.
10. This commitment shores up Sunday and Wednesday services. A man who is committed to early Sunday morning rarely struggles with being faithful to other services. It helps men win the battle of faithful attendance to all other services, as the other services don’t demand quite the level of commitment that MPM does.
11. MPM is not promoted. While new men will inevitably be invited to attend by members, MPM is not promoted from the pulpit or in print venues. I don’t want it to be a result of pressure or a badge of honor. If a man doesn’t value all the reasons listed above enough to come, that’s between him and the Lord. There is also the issue of a few men living far enough away that it simply isn’t feasible for them to come. Those men don’t need someone making them feel guilty.

Does it make for a long day? Of course it does. However, men who will work long days or play long days find satisfaction in giving the Lord no less. Our Sunday nights definitely don’t lack for energy due to people spending too much time together or with the Lord. Is it expensive? Yes, that level of breakfast demands a hefty budget, although I can’t think of any investment with a greater return for our men than MPM. Why not Saturdays or only once per month? Because the priority of MPM is God’s power on our Sunday services, and holding it hours before any services begin seems the ideal time.

MPM likely won’t fit the culture of every church. I only know it is a vital part of the backbone of Bible Baptist Church and is an excellent tool for achieving multiple strengths that make a church biblical and strong.

It all starts with prayer.