Churches give ministries for men new attention

In the 1990s, Marty Granger was swept up in the fast-growing Christian evangelical men’s movement called Promise Keepers. He helped organize its 1995 event at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and two years later joined 600,000 men on the Mall for a six-hour revival meeting that was one of the country’s largest-ever religious rallies.

Today, Promise Keepers’ national profile has waned, and Granger has become more deeply involved in grass-roots efforts by churches to aid men’s spiritual development.

As a founder of the Washington Area Coalition of Men’s Ministries, he provides books, speakers, training and encouragement to congregations that want to offer activities designed for men, whether it’s a 6 a.m. weekday Bible study or a Saturday morning sports-and-prayer outing.

Granger illustrates a trend that scholars and church activists say accelerated after the Mall rally: Spurred by the example of Promise Keepers, men’s ministries based in churches are proliferating.

“Where did all the men go that were on the Mall that day in 1997?” asked Granger. “They essentially went back to their local churches and began to ask the right question: ‘What now?’ “

As a result, he said, “We’re seeing much more attention being paid to the needs of men in the local church.”

The Mall event, called “Stand in the Gap: A Sacred Assembly of Men,” marked the height of Promise Keepers’ national prominence. Since then, the Denver-based group has weathered serious financial problems and an identity crisis, emerging as a leaner, lower-profile organization.

But the model it provided for men’s ministry has endured, experts say.

“It’s like when you first light a grill and there’s an explosion, but even after the fire dies down, the coals burn hot,” said Robert Andrescik, editor of New Man, an Orlando, Fla.-based evangelical Christian magazine.

“That’s what is happening in the Christian men’s movement these days. You don’t see the flame so much anymore, but the coals are still burning hot.”

Promise Keepers was a catalyst for the National Coalition of Men’s Ministries, an association of nearly 100 groups devoted to making churches “relevant to men,” according to coalition spokesman Brett Clemmer.

“Of all the things churches try to do … ministry to men is one of the hardest, because men are inherently and doggedly isolated,” said Promise Keepers national spokesman Steve Chavis.

But although men’s ministries have multiplied, more are needed, some pastors say.

“Men are very confused today about what it means to be a man,” said Burke (Va.) Community Church senior pastor Jack Elwood.

“While women are encouraged to be all you can be, men don’t know what they want to be. … Are they supposed to be a helper or a leader?”

Men’s ministries “help men come up with a vision … that’s bigger than just get a paycheck, go through life, get married, have kids and die,” Elwood said. “A lot of men … wake up in their 40s and say, ‘Is this all there is?’ “

Church attendance by men has been dropping in recent years, a trend that worries church leaders because “studies show that children come to church in higher numbers when their fathers are involved,” said the Rev. Henry Brinton, senior pastor at Fairfax (Va.) Presbyterian Church.

Attracting men to church means having “goal-oriented activities” and “hands-on work,” Brinton said.

“When men are pushed or even made uncomfortable by a challenge, they respond in a positive way,” he said. “The key to success is not to lower the bar … but to build challenges into the life of the church that cause them to respond.”

“(Men) prefer space and activity, and they … develop their relationships through shared experiences – not necessarily, or at least not first, through talking,” added Clemmer.

As a result, effective men’s ministries often involve sports activities that precede prayer, spiritual reflection and sharing concerns, he said.

“The activities make it easier to talk about the main issue,” Clemmer said. “They make guys comfortable.”