I will never forget the conversation I had with one of the top publishers in the world when I was about to release Soulcon Challenge. It was such a discouraging talk that it actually made me quit. This publishing company wasn’t trying to make me quit, they were just sharing the statistics with me, and as someone who has a graduate degree in leadership and business, I understand business operation based on solid forecasting. And honestly, men’s ministry looks dead on paper… See for yourself. Here are just a few statistics from the WACMM:
- 90 million men are not involved in any kind of discipleship. Only 6 million men are involved in discipleship-only 1 out of every 18 men.
- The typical U.S. Congregation draws an adult crowd that’s 61% female, 39% male. This gender gap shows up in all age categories.
- On any given Sunday there are 13 million more adult women than men in America’s churches.
- This Sunday almost 25 percent of married, churchgoing women will worship without their husbands.
- Midweek activities often draw 70 to 80 percent female participants.
- The majority of church employees are women (except for ordained clergy, who are overwhelmingly male).
- Over 70 percent of the boys who are being raised in church will abandon it during their teens and twenties. Many of these boys will never return.
- More than 90 percent of American men believe in God, and five out of six call themselves Christians. But only two out of six attend church on a given Sunday. The average man accepts the reality of Jesus Christ, but fails to see any value in going to church.
- Churches overseas report gender gaps of up to 9 women for every adult man in attendance.
- Christian universities are becoming convents. The typical Christian college in the U.S. enrolls almost 2 women for every 1 man.
- Fewer than 10% of U.S. churches are able to establish or maintain a vibrant men’s ministry.
- Fewer than 1% of churchgoing men participate in any sort of ongoing men’s ministry program.
This seems bleak, right?
Thankfully, I had a friend who went through the beta test of Soulcon Challenge pull me out of what I call, the pit of quit, and pushed me on to the finish line. I will be eternally grateful for this man, because what I found on the other side of this pit of quit is where the Lord allowed me to see how plentiful the harvest truly is in men’s ministry globally. Praise God…
Here are four tips from what I have learned, that I pray inspires you with the men’s ministry in your local church:
When men are challenged by someone other than the pastor, they respond more rapidly
Men are longing for the leaders in the church, other than the pastor, to challenge them to stop losing in areas of life. Every one of us as men are losing in areas that we clearly want to be winning in. But we need a challenge from a leader with us, not over us. This is why men’s ministry is so crucial in the local church. Because no matter how amazing the pastor is, men in the congregation can feel like their pastor distant from the “real world” problems they are facing. Which is not true, but it is a common perceived reality. This is why men need to be active in local churches on all levels. Men are longing to accept the challenge, we just need the men in the churches caring enough about their brothers that they challenge them to be more like Jesus, daily.
Practical Takeaway: Pray about appointing a leader in your church to men’s ministry. If you don’t have the resources, this is why Gibborim exists. Download the Gibborim App today in any App Store and check out all of our resources to help this leader succeed in winning the souls of your men.
Men long for a mission, not just a Bible study
Please hear me, I have found men are longing to study the Word daily, and praise God for that! But if local churches continue treating men’s ministry like the women’s ministry, we will never see the men’s ministries win again. Women are amazing, and I love my wife like crazy, but she doesn’t long for war movies filled with combat like Hold the Pass. My wife is like most women, she loves the feel-good movies, the RomComs, and that’s to be celebrated in women. But that’s what most women’s gatherings look like. And praise God for it! They are amazing, but when we try to take what works for the women, and without planning, put it into place for men, we will see initial success, and then long-term failure. Men don’t just want to just sit around and talk about the Bible, they want to put the Word into action. They long to be living an action movie like we find in the book of Acts. I believe that’s when men’s ministry starts succeeding again. Let’s get men globally crushing the work of the Enemy, united together in Jesus name!
Men aren’t complicated, but they need to be pursued
Please, never forget this point. We cannot get paralysis by over analysis with men’s ministry. Men need coffee and a place to meet. It doesn’t have to be decorated and filled with home cooking. Praise God as men we are simple, but this does not mean that we don’t want to be pursued. As men we want to see the local church putting forth effort to invite us and include us in the mission of the Church globally. Events as simple as inviting the men in your church to a monthly gathering, or even as simple to just go see a new movie coming out, then grabbing coffee after to discuss it. This pursuit can impact a man’s life greatly. We are all fighting a war for our soul (mind, will and emotions) that we will not open up about, and be transparent with until we feel respected and loved by the men around us.
Practical Takeaway: Set up a men’s meeting soon. Don’t wait until your annual men’s event. Just set a meeting, invite some men face-to-face, and then pray together and get to know them. Tell the men you love them, and that you need their help in the war for winning the souls of the men in your church. Ask them if one of them would be willing to lead a monthly meeting and be the point man for the men’s ministry. Assure them it won’t be a ton of work, but that it will have a massive impact. One of the things that can help is the Global Men’s Gathering on the Gibborim App. This is a live-streamed event in the app the second Saturday of every month at 9am CT (for free) with 4 discussion questions.
Men need to know they are not alone in their suffering
Men need to know they can talk through the difficult issues in their life with the men in their church without being judged or gossiped about. But to get to this point, the men in your church need to have some experiences of shared suffering to build their trust in each other. These experiences build the bond that I believe is crucial to the long-term success of any men’s ministry. We need a brotherhood that is unbreakable in local churches, founded on Christ, of men who we know are willing to push their lives to the limit, and then 10 times further to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Practical Takeaway: Soulcon Challenge is a 6-week special forces challenge for Christian men. Your guys will love it. It induces suffering that can be shared, and along the way your men will develop the needed trust to walk in total transparency with no fear. This is crucial. Also, short-term mission trips and evangelistic missions to the local community are great! Don’t over think it, just go knock on doors and tell people about Jesus! You can grab your copy today at Gibborim.com/store.
I pray this blessed your life and reinvigorated your heart to tackle men’s ministry again. Praise God men’s ministry is NOT DEAD but more alive than ever! I have seen with the success of Soulcon Challenge that men are chomping at the bit to get into the fight, and off the bench. The statistics will continue to remain if we as leaders, do no act. Let’s go get the harvest in Jesus’ Name!
God Bless,
Cody Bobay | Founder of Gibborim Studios | Author of the Soulcon Series | Actor and Producer |
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
1 Corinthians 9:24-27