The Battle for Men's Heart event held at the Antiochian Village Conference in Bolivar, PA on September 2016 was a key milestone event for both me personally and for FUMC Butler.  For our church it established a significant new catalytic opportunity for men to experience authentic biblical masculinity. I saw the Holy Spirit open the eyes of men’s hearts to who they truly are as men created in the very image of God. The Battle for the Heart will be a key piece in empowering our men to grow personally and pursue our church’s vision to be “A growing community of believers where Jesus Christ changes lives”.

For me personally, the retreat was a time of inner healing ...

A critical area that we see among men everywhere is the lack of authentic, biblical relationships – appropriately intimate with God and one another.  Below are testimonies from senior pastor Eric Park and a lay leader on his Battle team. 

I experienced this retreat as a time of deep recommitment to Jesus Christ, Whose lordship is way more reliable than my feeble achievement (which is important for me to say and write) I also experienced the weekend as a time of unexpectedly profound (and dauntingly quick) vulnerability in my team. It has been easier with this team than any other I've experienced to step out of my pastoral identity and to be a broken man in need of a fellowship and desperate for intimacy that is sometimes difficult for me to receive. I look forward to walking with these men into life changing community.- Eric Park, Sr. Pastor - First United Methodist Church - Butler, PA

The Battle for the Heart process will (and already has begun to) provide me with an opportunity to develop intimate relationships with other men for our mutual growth and development. In my experience, it is so rare for men to develop such life changing relationships. I am privileged to be a part.  - Bryan Cipoletti, Lay Leader - First United Methodist Church - Butler, PA

A consistent theme in prayer in our FUMC task force was a burden to see the Battle for the Heart affect not just Butler, but other churches in the surrounding region. That prayer is beginning to be answered through God powerfully moving in the hearts, lives and marriages of 5 couples from Lancaster County near Philadelphia who came to the BMH and BWH.  

We are a group of 5 couples who have been friends for over 15 years… sharing many of life’s challenges, hardships and victories. For many of those years we have met regularly as a small group with the purpose of supporting and challenging each other towards spiritual growth. In some cases and in certain seasons, we have been a source of encouragement and healing in each other’s lives. However, despite our greatest attempts, the vast majority of our time together was spent in self preservation, unhealthy relating and a focus on fixing each other.  Attending The Battle for your Heart weekend has been a game changer for our group. Not only did we experience significant breakthroughs in our individual spiritual journeys, we came away from the weekend armed with a biblical framework and practical skills that are transforming the way we relate to each other as individuals, couples and as a group. We are grateful for the time we invested and humbled by the work the Holy Spirit has done in our lives as a result of the Battle Weekend.    

- Jerry Ingraham, Lay Leader, Cocalico Community Church - Denver, PA