13 Reasons Why Men’s Ministries Die

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A healthy men’s ministry is like a lush, green lawn. When a lawn has the necessary elements for it to thrive – rich soil, water, sunlight, and nutrients – it thrives. Great lawns don’t just happen. They need constant attention and cultivation, otherwise, they wither and die. Men’s ministry is the same way. Without constantly thinking through what we are doing and why, our men’s ministry will also wither and die. Here are 13 reasons why men’s ministries die.

• Lost vision/lost mission – By vision I mean heavenly vision. A dying men’s ministry has lost its vision of Almighty God, of Jesus Christ seated at His right hand in glory, and of the power of the Spirit of God. And by mission, I mean the proclamation of God’s coming kingdom and of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. When a dying men’s ministry loses its vision, it also loses its mission.
• No pastoral involvement – Most pastors do not have the time to attend every men’s ministry event. But they should be involved in some part of their men’s ministry on a regular basis. Personal involvement on the part of the pastor is critical to the success of any men’s ministry.
• Inconsistent and/or untrained leadership – Preferably, a team of men should lead a men’s ministry. Teams provide stability to any ministry. The team members should be studying the Word with an eye on men’s ministry and reading as many of the excellent books that have been written on men’s ministry as they can. (Dallas Theological Seminary also has a course on men’s ministry which, I believe, is the only seminary in the country that does.)
• Men’s ministry tunnel vision – We tend to think of a church men’s ministry as a ministry to the most committed men in the church. But non-Christian men also need men’s ministry. In fact they need men’s ministry in the form of evangelism the most. In addition, your church ministers to every man attending it in some way, whether it’s during the worship service, or in Sunday school, or the guys running the multimedia system. All of that is men’s ministry. Expand your vision of men’s ministry to include how you can better reach and serve every man in your community and church.
• Little or no personal transparency and accountability – All ministry is personal, very personal. It is soul level stuff. It deals with sin and repentance and faith and obedience. Men, on the other hand, tend to avoid anything that embarrasses them. This fear of embarrassment makes men’s ministry particularly difficult. Your men’s ministry leadership needs to set the example by being transparent themselves. If your men’s ministry never breaks through this barrier, it will always be superficial and will eventually die.
• No evangelistic emphasis – If we are not fishing for men, then we will not catch any. It is as simple as that.
• No discipleship – Men’s ministry is ultimately the male version of the Great Commission. It is the process of bringing men into conformity with the person of Jesus Christ.
• No clear understanding of good works – This is my pet peeve. Very few books on men’s ministries even mention good works. But do a word study on good works in the epistles and you will see how relevant they are to men’s ministry. (2 Timothy 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8-10 are just two examples.) God saved your men to do good. Define that good for them and then show them how to do it and you will have a successful men’s ministry.
• No multi-level entry points – All men are not created equal…at least spiritually. Some men in your church may not even be Christians. Some are spiritual babies. Some are fairly mature. And some are spiritual giants. Provide programming with entry points that attract different types of men. For example, forming a softball team and holding a men’s retreat will attract different types of men.
• No young men involved – It has been scientifically proven that all men tend to eventually die. If all the men in your men’s ministry are over 60, your men’s ministry is terminally ill.
• Poor event planning, promotion, and implementation – There is no excuse for sloppiness.
• No church budget line item – Here are some suggestions: budget a few hundred dollars to reimburse local speakers who have some expertise on topics relevant to men, such as marriage enrichment, anger management, or dealing with pornography. Or budget even more and bring in national experts on topics like these. Or budget even more and hire a pastor of men’s ministry.
• No one shouting “THIS IS IMPORTANT!” – I have a simple exercise for you. Stop reading this. Get out of your chair. Go outside. Then shout, “THIS IS IMPORTANT!” Then go to church this Sunday and start shouting it (figuratively speaking) to everyone you know. Make sure your men’s ministry becomes topic number one. Why? Because it is important. There are men whose souls depend on it. There are men whose lives depend on it. There are men whose marriages depend on it. There are men whose kids depend on it. There are men who know widows and single moms who depend on it. And your church depends on it.

It is that important.

This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.

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