Meeting Location
Ceres First Baptist Address:
2735 5th St.
Ceres, CA 95307
Contact information
Dave Gregg
dgregg@csbministries.org
Call or text: 510-209-3678
What is Battalion?
Battalion is a ministry of Christian Service Brigade focused on Christian discipleship and leadership development for young men 7th through 12th grade.
Christian masculinity is not something you can learn on YouTube, in a book, and shouldn’t have to be learned simply through trial and error. In the past in our culture there were places in which masculine relationships could be built and where boys were shaped into Christian men through those relationships. Those places have sadly become few and far between.
Our Battalion ministry at Central Valley Presbyterian Church has been going since 2018 and has grown from about 12 guys to about 45. That includes young men as I described earlier, but also men from the age of 19 of through their mid 60s.
“Battalion is where Boys Become Men”
“Battalion is where Boys Become Men.” This is what one of our young men said when I asked him to describe Battalion. The transformation from a boy to a man involves more than head knowledge. It involves modeling within a culture that shows and helps boys feel what it is like to become a Christian man. Here’s a link to what we call our culture and standards. You can see what we value as important by looking over this document. But I think the most valuable step anyone can take to determine if they want to be involved in our Battalion is to simply come visit.
I think what you’re young man will experience is what so many others have. The guys who are in our Battalion are amazing young men. You can sense the difference from the time you enter. And what you see is what you get. I’m so proud to be the captain of Battalion 8093.
Battalion really is an extension of men’s ministry. But what we do is far more than just sit around and drink coffee. Every Church’s Battalion is a little different so let me tell you about ours. I’ll do so by just walking you through a typical night:
We start at 6:00 p.m. with dinner.
This responsibility rotates around the Battalion so everyone shares the opportunity to serve. By 6:30 everything is cleaned up and we have a quick lineup.
Squad Time
The Battalion is organized into smaller groups that we call squads. And each of those squads is led by a young man who has demonstrated Christian maturity and leadership possibility. With that said, we have always called Battalion a “leadership laboratory.” Boys need a place where they can learn how to lead. That means they need a place where they can make mistakes. So we provide that with proper guidance from older men.
The squad time usually involves time studying God’s word and memorizing scripture. It also involves the time of sharing and prayer together. These squads are maintained throughout the year and are the beating heart of our ministry. It’s where young men learn to lead, and younger men learn how to be led.
Skills Time
By about 7:15 squad time is over and for about 4 weeks we’ll work through a particular area of interest. It could be first aid, or small engines, or rock climbing, or illusions, or knot tying etc. For about 30 minutes we spend time learning practical skills that are tied, (pun intended) to biblical themes such as dependability, or purity, or patience etc.
Game
After that for about 20 minutes we play a game. A game designed to include everyone, but designed for young men.
Council Ring
The last section of our meeting is what we call council ring. It usually involves a talk, message, or story. It could be driving home the theme of the module that we’ve been working on, or it might be something that is relevant to the Battalion at the time.
I hope that this helps paint a helpful picture. Visitors are welcome so come take a look.
Contact us with any questions you have.