ARLINGTON — Tony Bravo dedicated his life to Jesus after kicking a year-long addiction to heroin, but it’s been through the H.U.G.E. Men of God that he’s found a place of fellowship.

“Even after I’d quit doing drugs, I wanted to do things my own way, and that wasn’t working out,” said Bravo, now 23, who was saved two years ago. “As men, we wear masks. But I come here, and it’s so cool to see a bunch of men, all different ages and colors, from different denominations and churches, and we unite as one.”

Bravo was one of the attendees who filled the Arlington Assembly of God Jan. 26, for the first of five weekly nights of prayer, song and working through personal problems with other men.

“There’s a spirit of welcoming here,” Bravo said. “You can walk in and get a bro-hug from a complete stranger. Other church groups I’ve gone to, it’s been all about telling me what I’m doing wrong, what I need to do, but this is a place of love, where they ask, ‘What can we do to help you get better?’ It’s about progress, not perfection.”

Dan Hazen, pastor of Allen Creek Community Church in Marysville, served as the keynote speaker, drawing laughter by comparing the imperfect practice of Christianity to the manly pursuit of sports, which can be entertaining and uplifting, but is ultimately inconsequential.

Citing the Book of James, Hazen asserted that following the rules laid out by scripture makes no difference if a man is simply checking off items on a list, without reading those passages in the context of the rest of the Bible, and without being transformed from the inside by God.

“It’s not just a manual for sin management,” Hazen said, as he argued that the Books of Paul and James don’t contradict each other, but instead complement one another.

“Paul tells us that salvation is by faith alone, but when James talks about faith without works, what he’s really saying is that true faith should automatically result in you taking a different action than you would otherwise,” he added. “You don’t just want to behave better, or even think better, but be better. Faith plus deeds is transformative.”

Hazen cited himself as an example of an imperfect man who still needs to be reminded to give himself over to God, as he recalled how he caught himself unfairly judging a group of homeless people, even as he served them through his church.

“In that moment, I just broke down,” Hazen said, close to tears as he spoke to the crowd. “I had to let God be my empathy.”

James Brooke, one of the organizers of H.U.G.E., ambled through the evening’s musical performances and group prayers and announcements with an approachable amiability, as he explained that the group’s acronym stood for “Honoring God, Unifying Men, Growing in Christ and Equipping Disciples.”

“What I see and hear from so many of these men is that they’re suffering from a lack of identity,” Brooke said. “If you don’t know who you are, you can’t move forward.

“Instead, you often make selfish choices, that satisfy you in the moment,” he added. “Having an identity helps give you a sense of purpose. It’s the difference between what it means to live, rather than just to exist.”

Through each evening’s breakout groups, the men who attend are able to explore the sources of the pain they’ve experienced and are given tools to deal with those issues.

“What matters is not just what the Bible says, but how we apply it to our own lives,” Brooke said. “We need to take what we hear in this church outside to the rest of the world.”

The H.U.G.E. Men of God will return to the Arlington Assembly of God at 7 p.m. on the Tuesdays of Feb. 2, 9, 16 and 23. For details, visit www.hugemenofgod.org.