Mike Dietz - Founder of Men With Faith

I come from a family of 12 children, 6 boys, 6 girls. I am the eleventh and youngest boy. There is 30 years between my younger sister and my oldest brother, and 24 years between my oldest brother and me.

When God spoke to me about  this ministry my argument to Him was, "Why me? What accomplishments do I have that would qualify me, Lord?"

To me my life consisted of debt, discontentment and discouragement. Who would want to read any of my writings or follow me anywhere? These are the very same problems that the men had who came to King David in the cave. Yet God chose these men to bring about His kingdom.

On the first day of April 1977 I started a business. This is the day God led me to start a cabinet shop. Carol, my wife, was 9 months pregnant with our first-born son. I had $600.00 in cash, no equipment, no knowledge of business man-agement, and no work to start. All I had was confidence that God wanted me to start this business. Two weeks later Jeremy was born and it took the rest of the money we had to get them both out of the hospital. We did not get a paying job until mid May and so we went 6 weeks without any income. If you were to ask me how we got by I could only say that God was faithful to provide and He did. I had a successful cabinet shop all the years of raising our four children. Seventeen years later at the age of 44 I was discontented, in debt and discouraged. I did not just wake up the morning of July 27th, 1994 and become all three of these. This had been a subtle process over the last 10 years.

I was an elder in our church, taught a small group, was faithful with my morning quiet times, but still was in debt, discontented and discouraged.  In debt because I wanted more challenges in life and things of the world and so I made some very stupid mistakes in business and these mistakes lead to others till finally they were bigger than I could handle. I had no hope left in me. The passion that had always motivated me was gone. What a mess I had become.

So how did I get to this place of discontent and debt? It starts by allowing the things of God to be removed from our "temple" and replacing them with "false" gods and idols of the land. I had become a man in a rut. (Quote: A rut is a grave with the ends removed.) Sin had sent its roots deep into my life and I could not help myself. In the war with Iraq (2003) we saw that Iraqi soldiers would hide behind their children and wives, cowardly. This was how I viewed my sin.  How could God touch me without hurting my wife and children?  But, I found out that God can touch me without touching anyone else.  God can go around all obstacles that we place in His way to protect our secret sinful life. God wanted to change me and use me because He made a covenant with me and has a glorious destiny with me.  He is faithful even when we are not.

God began by speaking to me about making a vow to him. I wrestled with it, but could not get rid of the idea. I began to research it out and found that I needed to share my vow with others. I shared with my wife and my brother Frank. My vow was,  "Lord, I will give you 10% of the gross of everything that comes into my doors of business."  My request was, "Lord, give back my passion in life, give me challenges, let me know that the best part of my life is still ahead. Take away my debt and make me prosper. Remove the idols from my life that have taken your place. Give me hope for tomorrow."   At the time I did not know I was asking for all these things, but God knew the cry of my heart better than I could put into words. So in January of 1994 I began to give as I said would.

On July 27th of 1994 God started answering my prayer. The IRS showed up unexpectedly and seized all that I owned and it was auctioned off for pennies of the value. I never imagined this is how He would do it. I lost my company and my confidence. I was ashamed to be around my peers. How could God allow this to happen? Did I not fulfill my part of the bargain? I felt that God had lied to me and that he was a cruel God. I could not read the word of God anymore. I wanted to run from everything and especially the things of God. What a fool. Where do you run from God?  Where can you go that He cannot find you?

If you should ask me years later what was the best time for my family I would say it was at this time. It brought my family together.  For the next 7 years I struggled with a shallow relationship with God while God was removing the things I was trusting in and still holding on to tightly. Although I was still an elder in our church, and teaching a weekly small group in our home, I could not fully understand all that God was doing. July of 2001 began His bringing me into my true potential.

I was now working for a Construction Company that required me to be away from home Monday through Friday. In a lonely motel room in Van Ness California, while building a retail building, I began to read the word of God again. At first I thought I would just read it like a book, but you cannot read the words of God with His Holy Spirit present - and not be affected.

In June of 2001 we started attending the church God led us to and I did not want any part of leadership or teaching as I had before. All I wanted was to have a place to sit and for my children to raise their families and to have a church behind my youngest son who was going to Morocco on a mission trip for one year. It was then that God began to speak to me about how much He loves me and that He has a unique plan for my life. God was with me even though I couldn't feel His presence. God was leading me even when I was not trusting Him.

One Sunday all the ministries of this Rocklin church were on display. The pastor wanted everyone to look them over and sign up for the ministries that the Lord would have them do. That Sunday evening we attended the worship and prayer service and afterwards when we were in our car leaving our back door opened up. The pastor was sitting in our back seat with a smile. He asked me why I didn't sign up for any of the ministries. I told him that I would pray about what God would have me do. I said this just to get him off my back because I had no intention of signing up for any ministries.

On Tuesday, September 9th of 2001 I was at a prayer meeting when the announcement came about the New York twin towers being hit by planes in the hands of terrorists.  It made all of us think about our lives a little different that day. Friday, September 12th 2001 I went with a group of men to a Promise Keepers meeting in San Jose California. While I was there the Lord asked me, "Mike, what has been around you all your life?" I thought and then answered Him, "Men, men in construction and men in sports." God began to say to me, "Mike, start a ministry for men."  Men With Faith started with the call from God and with God's full blessing on it.

I came back to my pastor and told him that God wanted me to start a ministry for men. My pastor was leading a small group of men in the church and was not quite sure what I had in mind. I told him that God wants me to start a ministry, not a bible study. I told him that I would like his blessing to start this in the church and that he and my brother Frank would hold me accountable. In November of 2001 we started with 6 men. But, what God had in mind was something altogether different than what I had known.  Now, five years later Men With Faith has and still is being formed and fashioned in the way God had in mind, which has nothing to do with man-made rules and religious regulations for worship.

The story is not over either because my life has not ended, and neither has the Lord returned as of this date. All I can say is that God did do all that I had asked Him to do, but even more. His timing is perfect. His ways are higher. I just needed to trust His love and wait for Him to lead me step by step. This is what I am doing and enjoying.

Carol and I have not been involved in church ministry like we were in times past.  God has done a "new thing" in our lives. The vision He has given us for men and their families today and for the "tribulation saints" is something we can't get out of our guts and God has promised to lead us and provide everything we will need to carry out His vision through us and those He brings to us to help us.