As a child, I remember my mother taking my older brother and me to Sunday School at an early age.  As I grew older, however, I noticed that my father didn’t go with us.  He stayed home and read the newspaper.  I didn’t understand how this man they called Jesus could walk on top of the water, or why Dad was allowed to stay home.  So my complaining about Sunday School started in earnest, and my mother eventually relented, allowing us to stay home Sunday mornings.  I grew up without a belief in Christ.

When my wife and I married, I had no interest in going to church, but I agreed that when we had children we would raise them in the church.  So, when our oldest daughter was about 4 ½, we realized that the time had come to start attending church.  While my wife was already a believer, it was me that prompted the family into a church routine on Sunday mornings.  I still thought I would play golf a couple Sundays a month and attend church a couple Sundays.  But in this place where the feeling of Hope emanated literally from the walls and from everybody within them, God grabbed me.  In that church I found Christ…my whole family found Christ. 

Just under two years ago we moved to Douglasville, and found a wonderful Presbyterian church there (FPC).  The day we officially joined the church some of the service committee chairs recognized fresh meat when they saw it, and my wife and I both were approached about joining a few service committees.  The Men’s Committee chair was the fastest, so I landed there.  We were having events without knowing why, and hoping men would show up.  Then we met Pat MacPherson.  Through Pat’s mentoring we have now held two Retreats, and two strong summer Men’s Studies.  We went from reaching 10 men, to directly touching over 20% of our Men’s membership.  Pat helped us to create a vision of a discipling ministry, with discipleship at the core of everything we planned, and our men responded.  Pat also took a personal and intentional interest in me, helping me to understand the need for discipleship, and helping me along my walk with Christ.  I have seen discipleship make a difference in men and their families.

Scott McLain