THE NUMBER ONE CONCERN OF CHRISTIAN MEN

John knows he needs to step up and guide his family closer to God. He has attended church faithfully for over 18 years, but has become frustrated as he realises there is still a gap in his own walk with God, which is impacting his ability to give spiritual direction and leadership in his family. John is not alone. According to Promise Keepers NZ nationwide surveys of men attending church, their number one concern is spiritual growth.1

What process does John’s church have in place for such growth? What process does your church have in place? For the vast majority of men, attending church on Sundays is not enough. What is needed is a deliberate, strategic long-term process whereby men can connect with God and each other.

Most churches don’t have a specific process in place. In a recent survey of men attending Promise Keepers Events, a staggering 85% of respondents wanted to be involved in a men’s group, but only 41% were. Unfortunately 32% of the churches represented had no Men’s Ministry at all.²

To assist such churches to establish a Ministry with Men that will grow men as spiritual champions, there are four key foundation stones that need to be laid:

1. Vision Men’s Ministries often flounder through the lack of a clear vision, or failure to communicate that vision. What is the purpose? Why is it important? Where are we going? These are all important questions that need to be answered. Once the vision has been established, write it down. In Habakkuk 2:2 God gives the instruction to “write the vision and make it plain... that he may run who reads it”.

2. Strategy
A clear strategy will help to implement the vision. Regrettably, activities for men are often run as a series of unconnected events, with no recognisable progression on the pathway to growth. The result is a lot of energy spent creating momentum for each event, with little thought given to how to capture and sustain that momentum.

To develop an effective strategy, it is crucial to know the state of your men. A survey is a powerful tool to achieve this - to establish where they are in their walk with God; what issues they want to see addressed; what they want to be involved in; when they are available, and other vital management information. This enables a church to have a sharp-shooter’s accuracy for planning their Men’s Ministry, as opposed to a buckshot approach.

Promise Keepers has developed a Men’s Ministry Survey specifically for this purpose. This has now been used in over 50 churches throughout the country. Survey results from each church are collated by Promise Keepers and the outcome discussed with them individually. These churches also have the added benefit of being able to benchmark their results against those of other NZ churches, through 53 pie charts and bar graphs.

3. Team
One significant reason why Men’s Ministries struggle to get traction is because of the lack of a strong team. A team is necessary to fulfil varying roles and functions for effective Men’s Ministry, e.g. event leaders, activity leaders, small group leader, prayer leader. Which men have the necessary skills and giftings to fulfil these roles, and how will you identify them? Often leadership roles are given to those who volunteer, rather than seeking out men with the specific giftings and abilities that are called for.

4. Goals
Men are goal-orientated. They want to know when their goals will be achieved, and be able to regularly evaluate their effectiveness. Remember that it will take 3 to 5 years for a Men’s Ministry to be fully functioning and effective. There are no short-term “quick fixes”, but small, measurable steps leading to long-term goals. One of the main goals of a Men’s Ministry must be to move men forward from converts to Christ, to followers, to disciples and then to leaders. Men need to see where they can be in 5 years’ time. Will your Men’s Ministry goals help them get there?

		To help churches with this process of developing men and Ministry with Men, Promise Keepers recently held a series of highly successful Developing Spiritual Champions Men’s Ministry workshops throughout the country. The response from churches was overwhelming, with 428 men attending, representing 152 churches. Kevin in Christchurch said the workshop was “a roadmap to getting started on the path to establishing a Men’s Ministry”. As well as offering a jump-start to many churches who are beginning their Ministry with Men, these workshops were able to take more established ministries to the next level with valuable insight and direction. It was extremely
encouraging to talk with men from a good number of NZ churches whose Men’s Ministries are not just growing, but thriving.

In addition to the workshops, Promise Keepers continues to offer ongoing help and advice for Men’s Ministries through long term Coaching contracts or one-off consultations. For less formal assistance, churches can also contact Promise Keepers’ recently appointed local Field Representatives.

So far, of the 152 churches who attended the Developing Spiritual Champions workshops in March, an impressive 63 have requested the Men’s Ministry survey or shown interest in longer term assistance through Coaching.

Many churches in New Zealand are now moving ahead in developing a strong Men’s Ministry, and therefore growing men as spiritual champions.

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¹ 79% of men surveyed, across all age groups, rated spiritual growth as their great/greatest concern.
² Promise Keepers Event Surveys 2008