AgōnYour men already meet. Agōn is for the six days in between.
Most men's groups don't end in a blowup. They thin out. A man misses a week, then two, and the group finds out after the fade has already happened. Agōn gives your group a daily account, help before a man breaks, and a structure that does the chasing, so your leader can do what he's there to do: shepherd.
Three or more of you get a cohort of your own, at the day and time you choose. Your coach is free.
Lead a men's ministry? Start here, and try it with a few of your men first.
It isn't the men. It's what a weekly meeting can't see.
The group sees Tuesday's man.
A weekly meeting hears the version of a man that showed up that morning. The other six days, where the real fight happens, go unseen until he decides to talk about them, and most men don't.
The leader carries everything.
He's the organizer, the reminder, the scorekeeper, and the shepherd. Eventually he becomes the enforcer, or he burns out, and the group runs on his energy until it runs out.
There's no finish line.
A group with no end slowly loses its edge. Nobody quits. It just matters a little less each month, until it stops meeting.
Everything a group needs to keep its word, built in
A daily account, not a weekly recap
Each man keeps a rule of five to seven commitments across heart, soul, mind, and strength, plus one for his neighbor (Mark 12:30–31). Every evening he gives account in about a minute, and his partners see who has. A day he doesn't report counts as missed.
Help before a man breaks
Men fade before they fail. Each kept commitment is rated easy, a fight, or barely, so when the fight gets harder week over week, he gets practical help and his coach knows to call. Two weeks under 60% brings a pastoral call. A man who goes two days without giving account shows up on his coach's list.
Your leader leads. Agōn does the chasing.
Reminders, tracking, weekly recaps, streaks, the call's agenda (four questions and the time split, posted before every call), billing, and the mission jar are handled. Your coach leads the call, locks in each man's rule, and cares for his men.
A cost that points outward
Each man sets his own fines for misses. Every dollar goes into a jar for a mission your group chooses together in week 6, and the whole jar is given away at the end of the season. A miss costs him something, and it does some good.
A prayer list that keeps itself
The requests your men share out loud on the call go on one list your whole group can see, in Slack and the Agōn app. Any man can add one or a praise in a few words. After each call, the man your coach names as Watchman gets the list to add what was said and mark what was answered. Every two weeks the man who asked is asked how it's going, so answered prayers become praises instead of disappearing. It's optional: your group can turn it off.
Partners one tap away
On a hard night, a man presses SOS and every partner in the group is asked to pray or call. If no one answers, his coach hears, then Mark. Members also get a private page of vetted help for struggles bigger than a habit.
A beginning and an end
Twelve weeks and a rest week. The first call locks in each man's rule; the last week closes with a season report and one question: What changed in you? Then your group decides together whether to go again.
Doing it on your own, and doing it with Agōn
| On your own | With Agōn | |
|---|---|---|
| When a man slips | You find out at the next meeting, if he comes. | His partners see that night who has given account. If he goes quiet, his coach is told. |
| Before the slip | Nobody can tell until it's a pattern. | Effort ratings show the fight getting harder before the misses start. |
| Keeping score | A spreadsheet, a group text, or nobody. | Streaks, weekly numbers, and recaps, done for every man. |
| The leader's job | Organizer, reminder, scorekeeper, and shepherd. | Shepherd. Lead the call and care for your men. |
| Prayer requests | Said once on the call, then forgotten, or lost in a group text. | One list for the group, kept up after every call, with each request followed until it's answered. |
| A hard night | Whoever happens to answer a text. | SOS to every partner, then the coach, then Mark. |
| Commitment | Free, so it's easy to drift. | A signed covenant, a real cost, and a mission jar your misses fill. |
| The end | It fizzles, or it runs forever. | Twelve weeks, a season report, and a choice to go again. |
None of this replaces your church, your small group, or your friendships. It makes the men in them better at showing up.
Five steps, and one man can start it
- Count the cost and start your group. One man reads the commitments and joins. On his join page he chooses Bringing your own men?, picks your day and time, and names your coach: himself, another man, or a captain Mark provides.
- Save seats for your men. He enters their names and emails. Each man gets his own link to count the cost and join. Your group is private: it isn't listed on the site, so only your men can join it.
- We approve your coach. A coach sees his men's effort ratings and any safety concern, so every coach is approved by a person. We may call him first.
- Three commit, and you choose your start date. When three or more of you are committed, the cohort is yours: your men, your day and time. We recommend six men per cohort.
- Lock in on the first call. Each man brings the rule he drafted, his partners help him sharpen it, and the coach locks it in. Daily accounts start the next morning.
Your own cohort. Your coach is free.
$12.30 every two weeks per man
Men who join together pay what every man pays: $12.30 every two weeks, which is $73.80 for the season, billed as three payments of $24.60, four weeks apart. What you get together is a cohort of your own: your men, at the day and time you choose, led by a coach who pays nothing.
- Your coach is free. A man who coaches his group pays no membership while he does.
- Agōn Premium is included. Every man's membership includes Agōn Premium in the app for the season and two weeks after, and so does a coach's. Compare plans.
- Students stay on the student rate: full-time students 24 and under pay $12.30 a month, which is lower still.
- Nothing is charged until the day after your second call, and any man can walk away through that call with nothing owed.
- The mission jar is separate: each man chooses a small amount for misses, and it all goes to the mission your group picks.
- A church that wants to cover its men's memberships can. Write to Mark.
It doesn't replace your church. It sends better men back into it.
Agōn is built on one passage: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30–31). Every man's rule includes a commitment aimed outward, at a real name or a real place. The point isn't a better streak. It's a man who keeps his word to God, to his family, and to his church.
It was created by Mark Sentell, a pastor and the author of Giving Account, the book the program is built on; every man gets a free copy. What's shared in a cohort stays in the cohort, except when someone's safety is at risk. A pastor sees his men's accounts only if he coaches their cohort.
What groups ask
Can we meet in person instead of on video?
Yes. If your men are local, meet in person at your usual time. Your coach takes attendance the same way, and the daily account still happens on each man's phone.
Our group has more than six men.
We strongly recommend six men per cohort, because every man needs time to give account on the call. A larger group usually does better as two cohorts: one captain leads both at staggered times, or a co-captain leads the second. If you'd rather keep everyone together, your captain can make the cohort larger.
Who can coach?
Any man your group trusts to lead the call and care for the men: the man who started it, a pastor, an elder, a friend who has walked further. Every coach is approved by a person. If you'd rather not lead, choose a captain we provide.
What if a man drops out before we start?
He can, with nothing owed. Nothing is charged before the day after your cohort's second call, and any man can walk away through that call without paying anything.
Can we make it our own?
Yes, within the 12:30+1. Your coach can set where you meet (online or in person, and move or cancel a single week), choose the questions for your weekly meeting (Mark's four, John Wesley's band questions, or your own), and, before you start, set what each man's rule needs: how many commitments, how many daily, and which pillars. He can add up to three commitments your whole group keeps together, like reading the week's sermon passage, and suggestions of your own for the pick list. He can also name one man as your group's Watchman to keep your shared prayer list, or turn the list off. The five pillars stay: heart, soul, mind, strength, and your neighbor.
Do we have to use Slack?
Yes. It's free on your phone, and the membership covers the paid seat. The evening prompt, your group's private channel, huddles, and SOS all live there. The Agōn app handles settings, and a man can give account there on a day he's away from Slack. Billing is on the website.
Is this only for mature believers?
No. It's for any man 17 or older who wants to be sharpened and is willing to be helped. A man new to the faith is welcome; his soul commitment can start with a careful reading of a book about the Christian faith.