HUGE men gather in Marysville for prayer, recovery and scripture

MARYSVILLE — A group of about 200 men come together to study the Bible, pray, listen to music and mostly be there for each other every Tuesday night at Word of Life Church in Marysville.

The weekly meetings (which also take place at Christ the King Church in Burlington) are gatherings of HUGE Men of God, a men’s ministry and outreach group affiliated with a dozen churches in Snohomish and Skagit Counties.

HUGE — the name is a quasi-acronym for Honor God, Unify men, Grow in Christ, Equip disciples — isn’t a church, but focuses on bringing men back to church and into a closer relationship with God.

Unlike national movements like Promise Keepers and Iron Sharpens Iron that put on stadium-size events, HUGE is home-grown in the Northwest and works to foster strong and close connections among the men, said James Brooke, the group’s founder and president.

The key is coupling larger gatherings of events with smaller breakout groups of 10 or 12 men, Brooke said.

“That’s where they share, that’s where they get a chance to talk,” Brooke said. “If you have 100,000 guys, you can be lost in that crowd.”

Darren Bailey, HUGE’s vice president, said there are two types of men who typically get involved.

“They’re either very active and engaged in their faith, and want to grow in their faith,” Bailey said. “The other end of the spectrum are people who find themselves in circumstances and they just don’t know what to do.

“It’s similar to the types of people at the gym: the fitness nut who works out regularly and eats well and takes supplements, or the person who is so is so unhealthy they need to be there,” he said.

He counts himself among the latter category. His tried to live as a good Christian, but he struggled with prescription drug and alcohol addiction, infidelity and domestic violence and didn’t understand why his life wasn’t going well. He realized he needed God back in his life, and not just in church, he said.

“Church shouldn’t happen in the four walls of the church. It should happen in daily life,” he said. Bailey, 47, has been coming to HUGE events for eight years.

“It saved my life and saved my marriage and my family, so I show up every year,” he said. “I was that weekend gym guy who had a heart attack.”

Operating on a shoestring budget, the group puts on a series of weekly meet-ups in the spring that focus on certain themes like prayer, recovery, scripture and question-and-answer periods with local pastors. The main event is a three-day retreat, Men’s Advance, at the Warm Beach Camp and Conference Center in March.

The group also holds a few less formal events, such as a bowling fundraiser.

American men are statistically uninvolved in church, Bailey said, and they are not trained to deal with life problems related to love, anger and substance abuse.

Brooke started the group with one other man about 2003. They’d been struggling — Brooke said his issue was infidelity — and didn’t know where else to turn.

“When I was at my rock-bottom, I was thinking, ‘Where are the other guys?’”

That led to a series of informal meetings in living rooms, and then in a church. By 2008, they started connecting with other churches, and HUGE was formally incorporated in 2010.

“It never dawned on me that it would be what it became,” Brooke said. “We just wanted to be available when that next guy has a hard time.”

Bailey said that HUGE showed him that he needed that openness in order to deal with his problems, and that he’s realized that the Bible encourages this.

As HUGE has grown, more men respond to that message, he said.

“When guys come and find, ‘I’m not the only one struggling with that,’ it can be very inviting,” he said. “It’s all about removing the impurities from life and learning how to do life better.”

Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.

HUGE Men of God events

HUGE Men of God is holding weekly “Men’s Forum” meet-ups from 6:45-9 p.m. at Word of Life Church (9028 51st Ave. NE, Marysville) on Tuesdays and at Christ the King Church (988 Fountain St., Burlington) on Thursdays. The meet-ups run through Feb. 26. The Men’s Advance retreat is scheduled for March 6-8 at Warm Beach Camp and Conference Center. For more information, go to hugemenofgod.org.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.