CONTINUED MOVEMENT
First Baptist Church Park Street had tried a variety of strategies for their men’s ministry, but nothing really stuck.
A quarterly men’s breakfast eventually faded away and there was nothing to consistently gather the men for discipleship at the church, located in Charlottesville, Va. All of this changed when Rob Pochek, former senior pastor at FBC Park Street, attended a Noble Warriors workshop at another local church.
Noble Warriors Founder, Mike Young led the workshop. Rob had known Mike for several years and had a relationship with Noble Warriors, but something Mike shared during this presentation pricked his heart.
“For some reason Mike used a phrase that day that just grabbed me,” Rob said. “The phrase was ‘the only raw material we have for making Godly men is young boys. If you’re going to create a culture in the church of Godly men, then boys are the raw material.’
“I don’t know why that struck me but it did. As I was sitting there listening to Mike, I was just thinking ‘this has to be my priority, to disciple the men in our church. If I don’t do it, then nobody else is going to do it.’”
After this workshop, Rob came back and told the rest of his church leadership he wanted to restart the men’s breakfast in early 2024 with a few new twists. The breakfast would be monthly, and Rob would take the lead in the teaching time. The actual food portion of the breakfast would be deemphasized, and the emphasis would instead be on studying God’s Word together.
Rob used Patrick Morley’s book “” as a teaching guide, walking through one chapter a month at each breakfast. Additionally, men were encouraged to bring their sons to the breakfast as a way to disciple them.
Ninety excited men attended the first breakfast, and since then, the breakfast has averages around fifty men–a much greater number than the previous quarterly breakfast!
“The revamped men’s breakfast really did help disciple the men in the church, and they really appreciated my level of commitment to discipling them in this way,” Rob said.
Rob explained the main change in the ministry came when he realized men’s ministry at the church was his responsibility.
“I have the conviction that the primary person responsible for the discipleship of men in the church is the senior pastor,” he said. “The Bible pictures that men have been given the task of spiritual leadership in the family and the Church. In order for them to lead well, they have to be discipled well.
Mike said pastor Rob is the perfect example of what it looks like to be a “Champion” for the men in his church.
“It was really a picture of what it looks like when a pastor steps into this space and says ‘I am going to be a visible and vocal leader of the men’s ministry at my church,’” Mike said. “Rob talked about the men’s ministry from the pulpit. He was an advocate for men and guys saw him as being for them. He attended every breakfast as a commitment. He took personal responsibility for leading the men. That makes all the difference in the world for a church.”
In early 2025, FBC Park Street soon entered a time of transition when Rob stepped down as pastor and accepted a new ministry assignment in Missouri. Even in a transition season, the momentum of FBC Park Street’s men’s ministry has kept going strong.
“There’s been no real change in the men’s ministry since pastor Rob left,” said Bill Fulkerson, church administration for FBC Park Street “We miss pastor Rob, but we are going to continue to do Christ’s work.”
Mike spoke to the continued leadership of Bill and the impact it had on the recent Noble Warriors conference held in early 2025 at FBC Park Street, the first ever conference in Charlottesville.
Mike said. “Bill has continued to pick up the gauntlet after Rob transitioned and has led the cause for men’s discipleship at FBC.”
Through the influence of Noble Warriors at FBC Park Street, and God’s gracious work through its leaders, it’s safe to say the strategic focus on men and their discipleship at the church is here to stay.