You want to encourage and strengthen the men of your church.
A men’s event has the potential to get many of your men together, provide value to them, and give your men’s ministry some momentum.
You probably have a limited budget, but that’s not a problem. You can have a big impact on your men without breaking the bank.
How? Follow these four recommendations for a high-impact men’s event.
1. Don’t Make it a Standalone Event
Your next men’s event is not an end unto itself. Instead, it is the right next step in support of your men’s ministry strategy. (That strategy should include these six critical elements.)
“Don’t ever think that your men’s ministry is just about the next event,” says Patrick Tyndall of Ironman Outdoor Ministries. Men’s ministry, like all ministries, is relationship-based. Tyndall encourages pastors to use events to build a “brotherhood” of men in their church.
After working in and with men’s ministries for over 45 years, Ron St. Hilaire of Men in UNITY concludes that the focus should be on connecting men together in a meaningful Christian environment and then growing them. “If you want to grow your church, then you need to grow your men,” he says.
When churches disciple and build men, those men become spiritual leaders in their homes, their churches, and their communities, says Brian Doyle of Iron Sharpens Iron. Setting a strategic goal of equipping men to be spiritual leaders can drive a church’s ministry to men and its ministry through men.
Having a solid strategy in place helps men’s ministry leaders decide which event, or events, to hold next.
“No event will reach every man,” says Brett Clemmer of Man in the Mirror. He encourages men’s leaders to determine which men they want to reach and then tailor the event to those men.
You don’t have to break your limited budget on the event. Any event that gives men an opportunity to gather, connect, and grow is worth doing.
2. Make it an Event Worth Attending
If it’s worth doing, however, then it’s worth doing well.
When it comes to men’s event, churches often lower the bar in the hopes of attracting a big audience. “But men who want to follow the King and change the world are not interested in low- bar events,” says Doyle.
It can be tough to get men to attend an event, Doyle admits. For starters, they are busy. They also tend to be critical of many men’s events.
While women have a felt need to gather with other women, most men don’t have a burning desire to gather with other men. Before a man will attend an event, he needs a compelling reason.
According to St. Hilaire, the first question men ask about an event is this: “What’s in it for me?” He advises church leaders to know their audience before they plan an event for that audience.
That audience is not monolithic, but men do have things in common. For example, most men like to serve, as long as the service opportunity leverages the men’s expertise and experience. Unfortunately, service opportunities at churches tend to leverage women’s talents rather than men’s.
Of course, men like to eat, so it’s always a good idea for a men’s event to feed the men, and feed them well. “If it’s a breakfast event, then lots of bacon, please,” jokes St. Hilaire.
Another important element of an event is the time. When can the men targeted by the event meet. Are they shift workers? Are their kids playing soccer on Saturday mornings? Is it deer hunting season?
To Tyndall, a critical element of a men’s event that often is overlooked is the atmosphere. For some men’s events, the right atmosphere may not be available in your building.
When you get guys away from the church building, asserts Tyndall, they are more willing to build relationships and have conversations about tough subjects, such as lust. “I can go to church with a guy for five years and not really know him,” Tyndall says, “but I can do an overnight event with him and come home feeling like we’ve known each other since high school.”
Tyndall recommends putting one or two men’s weekend retreats on your church’s calendar every year. Schedule each in a cabin or at a lakehouse and allow guys to develop relationships while hunting, fishing, or doing other outdoor activities.
With any men’s event, be sure to extend a personal invitation to every man you want to attend.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/digitalskillet
3. Consider an Event That Is Not “Your” Event
Most men, especially those who are not active in church life, don’t want to attend an event where only a handful of other guys show up. For an event to have a strong masculine context, you need enough men for “critical mass,” according to Doyle. But getting critical mass can be tough, especially at a small church.
The answer may be to see what men’s events are happening at other churches in the community and even within a few hours’ drive.
“Multi-church events can be wonderful opportunities for bonding and spiritual growth,” says Dave Wertheim, a bivocational pastor who heads Men U for Transformed Lives. At these events, small-church attendees hear speakers and have experiences that they likely could not have at their own church.
To ensure the men of your church gain the maximum benefit, Wertheim recommends that you focus on sharing the experience. Travel together. Sit together. Have lively discussions before, during, and after the event.
Doyle offers six tips for mobilizing your men to a men’s event, especially one that is not at or sponsored by your church:
- Provide information early and often. Give men ample time to process what the event is, when and where it is, and why they should attend.
- Differentiate the event from normal events at church, such as worship services. Provide details on what will happen and what topics will be covered.
- Promote the event from the pulpit on at least one Sunday morning.
- Give every man a personal invitation to attend.
- Clearly communicate the deadline for signing up. When men know what the deadline is, they will work to get you a decision.
- Encourage teamwork before, during, and after the event. This will allow men to process what they are learning and encourage one another to follow through on action points.
One unusual men’s event available in different parts of the country is a Base Camp, the brainchild of Kevin DeVries of Grace Explorations. With Base Camps, men gather monthly or quarterly at a comfortable place, such as a microbrewery, to hear gospel-centered stories from other men.
DeVries partners with churches to give their men a way to build community outside the church building. "God is telling His epic story through small, human stories," says DeVries. When men hear how God is working in the lives of ordinary men in the room, it gives them a new perspective on their faith.
4. Encourage Men to Build Relationships at the Event . . . and After
Regardless of what event you hold or attend, you want that event to help your men get to know each other . . . and you.
Tyndall encourages men’s leaders to have enough margin in the event schedule for men to have conversations. Leaders need to be active participants in those conversations.
“Open up about your own failures as a man and invite others to an authentic and genuine place where we can share about our struggles as men,” he says. Make it clear that your church’s men’s ministry is about men pursuing Christ together.
That pursuit, of course, will continue after the event, so you need to give men opportunities to gather again in the near future.
The biggest mistake that church leaders make in their men’s events, says Clemmer, is not offering attendees a next step that is appropriate for each event. “Appropriate means you don’t offer a 32-week study of Revelation after a Wild Game Feast,” he says. It often is better to invite guys on a hunting trip or to join a softball team or a small group.
Clemmer recommends that you have guys sign up for the next step before they leave the event. And put them in groups right then, not two months later.
“Have them connect with the leader of the next step immediately and plan when they will get back together next,” he says.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/SDI Productions
Chris Bolinger is the author of three men’s devotionals – 52 Weeks of Strength for Men, Daily Strength for Men, and Fuerzas para Cada Día para el Hombre – and the co-host of the Empowered Manhood podcast. He splits his time between northeast Ohio and southwest Florida. Against the advice of medical professionals, he remains a die-hard fan of Cleveland pro sports teams. Find him at mensdevotionals.com.