Discovery Men

Not a meeting you attend. A table you sit at.

Discovery Men is built on small groups of men who meet all year, know each other's names, and don't let each other drift. Everything else we do points back to that table.

The Man Creed

Ten lines every Discovery man is learning to live.

The Creed is not a membership card. It's the standard our groups hold each other to, read at our tables and prayed over our sons.

Read it slowly. If it describes the man you want to become, tell us. We'll put a brother next to you.

A man praying with his hand raised during a Discovery Men gathering
  1. Westay close to God in His Word and in prayer.
  2. Wewalk in integrity, the same men in the dark as in the light.
  3. Wepursue purity and refuse to live a double life.
  4. Wegovern our appetites, our anger, and our tongues.
  5. Westay humble, own our sin, and are quick to repent.
  6. Westep up to lead, and we refuse to drift or stay passive.
  7. Weprovide for and protect those entrusted to us.
  8. Welove sacrificially, patient, kind, and present.
  9. Wehave the courage to do what is right when it costs us.
  10. Wewill endure, finish well, and leave a legacy worth following.
By grace, and for His glory,
this is the man we are becoming.
But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. 1 Timothy 6:11-12 (NIV)

Take the Creed, and we'll take it from there.

Tell us you're in. A Discovery Men leader reads every response personally and reaches out within the week, not to add you to a list, but to hear where you are and get you to a table where you'll actually be known.

How it works

We're a men's ministry of small groups, not a men's ministry with small groups.

Most men's ministries are built on a calendar. Ours is built on a table. Here's the whole structure in three lines.

Men eating and talking together at a Discovery Men gathering
Every man

Belongs to a group

Groups of men meeting through the year in homes and around the city. Scripture, real conversation, prayer, and the kind of friendship where somebody notices when you go quiet.

Discovery Men leaders talking together before a gathering
Every leader

Is being mentored

A team of Brotherhood Mentors carries this ministry. Every man who leads other men is himself in a mentorship group, sharpened, known, and never leading out of an empty tank.

A full room of men at Discovery Men's Night
Every year

We gather the whole house

Men's Night and the Men's Retreat pull every group into one room. They're the front door and the family reunion. They are not the ministry.

If you've come from a men's ministry built on breakfasts and guest speakers, this will feel different. Slower. More personal. Harder to hide in. A man isn't changed in a room of three hundred. He's changed at a table of eight, by men who know his name.

Men's Groups

This is where the ministry actually happens.

A Discovery Men's group is a handful of men who commit to each other for a season and keep showing up. You'll open the Bible, say true things out loud, pray for each other's homes, and serve together. Over time, the men in that room become the men you call first.

Not sure which group is yours? Don't guess. Take the Creed and a Discovery Men leader will reach out and help you land in the right one.

  • Who it's forAny man, any age, any starting point, including the man who hasn't been to church in years.
  • How oftenGroups set their own weekly or biweekly rhythm and meet through the year.
  • WhereHomes, worksites, and coffee shops across Bakersfield.
  • What you doScripture, honest conversation, prayer, accountability, and serving together.
  • What it costsNothing but your presence, and that part is not optional.
  • First stepTake the Creed. A leader will reach out and walk you in.
Brotherhood Mentors

The men who carry this ministry on their shoulders.

Brotherhood Mentors oversee Discovery Men. Every man who leads a group is placed in a mentorship group with one of them, matched by personality and season of life, for sharpening, accountability, and brotherhood of his own. They are not a committee. They are the reason no leader here is running on empty, and the reason the tables under them stay healthy.

Discovery Men leaders standing together after a gathering
  • Troy Barton
  • Ryan Brigden
  • John Campbell
  • David Castro
  • Keith Dineen
  • Jaime Duarte
  • Nate Dunlap
  • Kevin Earnest
  • Joe Harmon
  • Todd Jones II
  • Robert Marines Jr
  • Robert Nelson
  • Adrian Prado
  • Clarence Ramirez
  • Jesus Soto Jr
  • Shaun Tobiasen
  • Dereck West
Discovery Men · 2027

The Strong Man Challenge

Three challenges. One year. Finish all three.

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. — 1 Corinthians 16:13

A man running a rugged mountain trail
I

The Forge

Be Strong January 30, 2027
A man sprinting up a steep hillside
II

The Ascent

Be Courageous June 19, 2027
Men pushing through a muddy obstacle course together
III

The Gauntlet

Stand Firm October 1, 2027
Finish all three and you are a Strong Man Trifecta 2027 Finisher
Events

Two gatherings a year that put every table in one room.

Come to either one. Just know that what happens on stage is designed to send you back to a group, not replace one.

A packed room of men during Discovery Men's Night
Saturday, June 19, 2027

Men's Night

One night, worship with a room full of men, and a straight word. The easiest thing in the world to invite a friend to, and the front door into a group. Challenge II, The Ascent, happens here.

Registration coming soon
Men worshipping with hands raised at the Discovery Men's Retreat
Thursday, Sept 30 – Saturday, Oct 2, 2027 · Tehachapi, CA

Men's Retreat

Three days away with your group and the whole brotherhood. Most men point back to a retreat as the weekend something finally broke loose. Challenge III, The Gauntlet, happens here.

Free this year for every man Registration link coming soon

You were never meant to do this alone.

Take the Creed. A Discovery Men leader will reach out this week and help you find your table.