Jack Wellman

Just Ask Them

This might seem too simple but has anyone ever just come up to some of the men in the church and asked them? Do we really need to pass around a signup sheet for every ministry? Why not just walk right up to some of the men in the church and ask them to help, even if it’s for one day. Before I was pastor of the church I am at now, we had a youth car wash that was designed to raise funds for our missions and we got the men to donate the power washers, the soap, and the glass cleaner and they loved it. Of course, about everyone got soaked and the youth loved it. The fact that no one had ever asked these men to attend seemed to be a huge oversight. Now I hear that it’s a regular on their calendars. It might not be every month but it was a great way to get the men involved in church ministry.

Find Their Skills and Passions

We have about three mechanics in our church and they are extremely talented when it comes to working on vehicles. I thought, hey, this might be a great way to help single mothers with their car maintenance. Of course, we also included low income people and widows in the church. What a great addition to what I call an “In-reach” program at the church. Since the church is to be the voice, hands, and feet of Christ, why not put those hands to work!? We were able to also reach out to some new people in the community too who may have never attended church before or even known about us but word of mouth spread. We handed them a Bible tract and gave them some information about our church (including our children’s Sunday school program) and it was a great way to be a witness for Christ. If they could afford it, we ask the participants to supply the money for the oil, the oil filter and air filters (if needed) but no one was turned away if they couldn’t afford it.

Make your Prayer Breakfasts Public

Maybe your church already has one of these but we decided to move ours to a local restaurant (with advanced permission) and we were able to meet some of the men’s friends who were in the restaurant and they decided to join us. Now we didn’t do this with the express hope of finding new members but it didn’t hurt that more people would know about us and we did like the idea of being out in the public. I think all the men enjoyed being out in the community instead of having our Prayer Breakfast in the fellowship hall as usual and it may just be a way of sharing the gospel with those who have never heard it before.

Cookout in the Park

How about moving your church’s potluck into the city park, depending upon the size of your church? Our park has an outdoor bar-b-q and when people in the park smell the hamburgers and hotdogs, they just seem to gravitate to our area. It’s another way to have an activity that men naturally like to do. I don’t know too many men who don’t like to have an outdoor bar-b-q.
Take advantage of what men like to do and you’ll have an easier time having them involved in a ministry. Once again, this could be another part of your ever-growing, ever-expanding Outreach program.

Handy Man Saturdays

I have a little bit of carpentry skills and since so many of our men in the church are blue collar workers, many of them are skilled at plumbing, electrical, and other handyman skills that are helpful for those in the church like widows and, again, single mothers. We are in the process of redoing our church bathrooms and these men, and some women too, just jumped right in and saw what was needed to do and did it! The bathrooms now look great. It occurred to me, why not just have a Handyman Saturday once a month or every other month and help those who are not able to fix minor repairs in their own home. Just pass around a signup sheet for single mothers and widows and have them write down what they need to have fixed at home. Now realistically, they’re not likely to solve all of their problems but possibly they can help with the most pressing needs, like a leaky faucet or replacing an electrical outlet. This is something that also takes advantage of a man’s natural skills, abilities, and talents and thus, may be an activity that’s more attractive to them than some of the other church ministries.

Sports and Recreation Ministry

What’s a better way to work with church youth than coaching or training children in different sports? How about a baseball and softball clinic that teaches youth the rules, improves their fielding skills, work on their hitting, and how to be a team player? I’m sure you’ll have the young people eager to “play ball” with the men. If you have enough youth, maybe you can finish by having an exhibition game. There are numerous sports ministries you can have which might even include fishing and camping. Use your imagination. Take suggestions from the men…and the children. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the sport while also learning sportsmanship.

Conclusion

The way to get more men involved in your church ministries might be as simple as asking them to help in an ongoing ministry or asking them for ideas on how they can use their abilities, skills, and talents to help those in the church who are less fortunate or to help those in the community as part of the church’s Outreach. Be creative and brainstorm, and you might get more men involved in your church’s ministries. Do me and the readers a favor won’t you? Add your own idea or one that you have used in your church that might help others get more men involved in church ministries.

The above article, “6 Ways to Get Men Active in Your Church Ministries” is written by Jack Wellman. The article was excerpted from: www.churchmediamagazine.com web site. November 2014.

The material is copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.

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