Second Quarter 2007 Understanding Where Men Are and How to Reach Them

Editor’s note: CE&P is partnering with Man in the Mirror to offer the best in training and resources for men’s ministry in local churches. The following is an abridged article used by permission from No Man Left Behind (Moody 2006).

By Pat Morley, David Delk, and Brett Clemmer 

A church was having its annual men’s retreat, with discipleship as the overarching theme. A few of the men from the leadership team became a subcommittee to organize it. They set some goals:

• Reach out to men who didn’t traditionally attend their church’s events                            • Help men get to know each other on the retreat                                                           • Develop a follow-up strategy that kept men involved after the retreat

 The Wide-Deep Continuum                                                              

Making disciples is all about taking men who don’t know Christ and helping them become mature, passionate followers of Jesus. This journey can be represented by a continuum:                       Men who need Christ >>>>>>>> Mature Disciples

 Your ministry to men will need to help men at every stage of this journey. We call this concept the wide-deep continuum: WIDE >>>>>>>DEEP

Every man in your church can be placed somewhere on the continuum and that determines the offerings that will appeal to him. As a man matures in his faith, he will move farther down the continuum.

Applying the Wide-Deep Continuum  

You will interact with men at all points along this wide-deep continuum. On the left, or “wide” side are men who are not all that interested in spiritual things. To reach guys on the wide side, you need activities that reach them at their point of interest. These are activities that require little or no preparation and low commitment. Typical activities at the wide end are softball teams, BBQs, a Super Bowl party, golf, hunting, or fishing.  

To reach men on the “deep” side, you need activities that meet their spiritual needs more deliberately. These activities probably have a connection from week to week; they require preparation; they’ll go deeper into biblical concepts; they will offer accountability and transparency; and their focus will be on more mature Christians. Typical activities might include small groups, Bible studies, leadership training, service projects, or spiritual retreats. 

No activity you plan can meet the needs of every man in your church. 

As you plan, make sure you are offering different types of activities to reach the different types of men in your church. Build a seamless process to move men across the wide-deep continuum.  

Also, be sure your leaders are clear about your target audience. Left to their own devices, your leaders will naturally tailor events to their passion and calling. Help them understand the purpose of the event so they can support the agreed upon agenda of the team.  

What about your men? Is someone thinking how to build a seamless process to help men who don’t know Christ become passionate, mature disciples?

Applying the Continuum

Consider the ministry to men at your church.

• Where on the continuum would you say men are most effectively being reached?           • Which type of man are you most passionate about reaching?                                       • How can you have more of an impact with these men? WIDE > > > > > > > DEEP

RESOURCES for Men’s Ministry

Men’s Ministry Action Plan: A Strategy for Reaching Men. This strategy includes: vision for men’s ministry, motivating your men, and a six-week discussion group focused around “full life plan.”

No Man Left Behind: How to Build and Sustain a Thriving Disciple-Making Ministry for Every Man in

Your Church, Patrick Morley, David Delk, and Brett Clemmer. This book lays out a strategy for helping men who may or may not know Christ become passionate disciples.

Forging Bonds of Brotherhood: Helping Christian Men Build Friendships for Encouragement and Accountability, Gary Yagel (CE&P Consultant for men’s

ministry). How do you find a few close friends to help you in your spiritual battles? Yagel says while you may not be able to find them, you can forge them.

Called to Sexual Integrity: Ten Biblical Studies to Experience Christ’s Heart-Transforming Power for God’s Glory, Gary Yagel. Ten studies that view our sexuality and the battle for sexual purity through the lens of Christ’s work on the cross.

A Man Of God: Essential Priorities for Every Man’s Life, Jack Graham. This book contains solid biblical counsel to enable men to step up to the plate at this time when the churches and the world need men of God. Graham challenges men to live with purpose and passion for Christ.

The Life of a God-Made Man: Becoming a Man After God’s Heart, Dan Doriani. Unlike other how-to books, Doriani’s approach is to focus on what God has done for you and how that impacts your being a “God-made man.”