Freshly-brewed coffee awaited a group of Christian men from different denominations, tired in body but alive in spirit, as they funnelled in to join in Iris Ministries’ inaugural Men’s Breakfast gathering.

It was there at 6:30 a.m., in the basement of Saints on Main Restaurant sheltered from the sunrise that overtook Stouffville, Ont.’s Main Street, that a handful of men joined for the first event under a program to build up fellow brothers to live with mission and purpose through worship, Bible study, conversations about Christian masculinity, shared meals and general fellowship.

The first event of the newly formed group was delivered by Iris Ministries’ GTA Community, a branch of the worldwide Christian mission organization and extension of Iris Ministries Canada, whose mission is to foster communities through worship and fellowship.

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Pastor and Iris Ministries Canada board member Luke Weaver, along with Saints on Main business partner Elbert Chu, had hosted similar men’s breakfast groups as far back as 2013 in Newmarket, Ont., and New York, respectively. The two have rejoined with a renewed hunger for bringing forth a love of Christ to men, regardless of denomination.

“Our heart was to create something where people from different denominations could come together and support one another as men, husbands and fathers, diving deep into what it is to actually be a man while better understanding the Biblical definitions of masculinity,” Weaver said.

“Ultimately, we want to delve into what it means to be more like Jesus, who was the pure definition of what it meant to be united.” 

During shared worship, prayer and Scripture readings, an emerging unity was felt by those in attendance.

“ This was designed to be a space of unity because we let things that theologically we might differ on and separate us instead of letting the main component of our theology bring us together,” Weaver said. “This is not about us trying to build our own church, but trying to create something where people can encounter Jesus, learn from one another and find the truth about what God was talking about when He said ‘be the Church.’ ”

Together, as humble men learning how to unite as opposed to being divided by specific sects of Christianity, the men listened as Weaver led communal worship through song, before exploring the passages of Genesis 1:27 and John 15. The Scripture of note applied to men of any denomination: Being blessed by God, being fruitful and our connection to God, just as branches are connected to the True Vine.

For Chu, the opportunity to share a moment of prayer and fellowship together with men from various denominations was the return to practice that he had been anticipating for some time.

“ I don't care what denomination you're from; if you love Jesus and you want to go after Him, let's go together. We have one Father, one God, we serve one Holy Spirit, so I’m joyful knowing (in this group) that we celebrate that oneness, because that's what Jesus said: ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another,” he said.

“Why is the world so confused about what the Church is? Because we don't love one another, and today we are seeing just the start towards changing that reality.” 

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The inaugural breakfast meeting allowed the men to begin their day in shared prayer before work, and signified a much deeper and intentional desire from its hosts.

“You don't get up at 5:30 in the morning to get here if you’re not hungry to grow.  There's something about suffering with one another, which we want to bring into the men's group, that inherently helps you grow together when you go through those things with one another,” Weaver said.

Even with a start before sun-up, upwards of 15 men attended the first breakfast meeting. When asked if the slight turnout was a disappointment, the pastor shared that it was, in fact, the opposite.

“ I think maybe we had too many, Jesus only had 12,” he told The Catholic Register with a smile. “ God knows exactly who needs to be here, and Jesus never ran to the crowds; He picked them and poured into them.”

“ If the crowds come, fine, but our prayer is that God brings the crowds, not us. I think our heart isn't to make this a huge thing, but if it gets to a certain size, we would want to be multiplying, we would want these gatherings in different towns,” Chu added.

One man open to attending future instalments of the initiative is Christopher Reznick, a parishioner at Our Lady of Grace in Aurora, Ont. A cradle Catholic, Reznick shared that, despite the ecumenical approach of the men's breakfast, a growing interest in the faith is always welcomed and should be appreciated for what it's set out to do. 

"While it may not be exactly what I'm looking for to a tee, it's not something I think (Catholics) should be intimidated by," he said. "This is an example of people interested in growing in faith and learning more about Scripture, Jesus and their fellow man." 

The morning concluded with an open floor, where men could open up about anything in their personal lives, good, bad or indifferent, for communal advice and, of course, communal prayer. Together, the same strangers who entered the event at sunrise joined to pray for one another as Christians.

The men’s breakfast group, which remains open to men of any faith, is now set to be a recurring weekly meeting, with more fellowship, Scripture breakdowns and worship slated for 6:30 a.m. on Fridays.

When asked what success will look like moving forward, Chu answered without hesitation.

“Success to me is that day when I see these men I just met in their glory, when we see the fire of God just being poured out in different parts of who they are, and that’s something we have to do together,” he said.

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For Weaver, Iris Ministries’ newest vision is off to a good start, learning from one another and loving despite minor disagreements.

“What I saw today was kind of like a glimpse of Heaven here on Earth,” he said following the gathering. “When we get to Heaven, God will not separate us according to denomination; it won’t be Baptists over there, Pentecostals over here, Methodists over there — we will all be together as a reflection of His body, and the beautiful thing is looking around the room this morning and seeing people sharing that love of Jesus.”