When men come to your men’s ministry events or Bible studies, what would they say is the primary expectation placed on them?
If their answer focuses on showing up for you more than it is on showing up in life, then you have a problem.
One of the most dangerous traps in ministry to men is when the most significant win is men showing up on the date and time you announced. It’s the kind of trap that is easy to fall into because of the busyness of life, and it’s dangerous because we can convince ourselves that attendance is the same thing as impact.
To help you change this story, there are some essential steps you can take as a leader. Your ministry needs clarity on desired outcomes more than it needs clarity on what type of food you are preparing for your next event.
What Would God Say It Means to Be a Godly Man?
Take a step back from planning your next set of events or Bible studies and ask yourself this question:
What would God say it means to be a godly man?
Christian ministry is designed to accomplish what God wants to accomplish. Avoid the temptation to lean on your own definitions and instead do the work of studying the Bible, observing the picture of masculinity that God describes.
What would God say it means to be a godly man?
Take the time to write this out—and then edit it down and refine your words even more until you can describe it in one or two sentences. Yes, that will take work, but you need to be able to articulate this biblical ideal of masculinity to men in a very clear way.
Wherever you land after doing this exercise becomes the vision God has for your ministry and the men you have been called to minister to.
Repeatedly Cast the Vision
When Jesus first called His disciples, He told them upfront about the vision: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).
There was no surprise for this group of men every time Jesus sent them to serve people, pray for the sick, and ultimately head out on a mission to make more disciples of Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20). His vision for these men was consistently reiterated in both His words and actions.
When I began serving as a pastor at our church, it was an incredible blessing to know that a clear mission was already in place: “Make disciples of Jesus who love God, love others, and serve the world.” Everywhere you go in our church, you will be reminded that increasingly becoming this type of disciple of Jesus is the standard expectation here.
Put the words of your vision everywhere you can and talk about them as much as you can. Yes, you might get bored with saying the same thing, but remember your men are bombarded by thousands of messages each week, and they need reminding of what the goal is.
Build Your Activities Around the Vision
The next step is to ensure that everything you do helps point men towards this vision. There might be men in your church who are interested in how to interpret the book of Revelation, but that does not necessarily mean your men’s ministry is the place for them to wrestle with that question. Challenge and train men to become the type of man God has revealed He wants them to be.
Create the Expectation of Action
Every activity your ministry runs should have a specific action step for a man, and each action step should help a man become a little more like the man described in your vision. If you do not have a next step for a man, then you have created the expectation that success is simply showing up at your event or Bible study.
Celebrate the Faithful Men
This might seem odd, but there are really two ways to solidify expectations in the men you are serving. One is accountability. However, the limitation with accountability is that it only works for the men who want someone to hold them accountable.
A better approach is to celebrate the men who are increasingly becoming who God has designed them to be. No man is perfect, but when you create space for faithful men to tell the stories of their struggles and the work of God in their lives, you are helping other men to visibly see what you are talking about when you cast the vision for your ministry.
What you celebrate builds the culture of what is expected.
Clarity on what you are asking of your men will breathe new life into your ministry to men and will be a gift to every person who interacts with the men in your church throughout the week.
About
