The head of pastoral ministries at Focus on the Family says ministers need to make it a priority to get men involved in leadership roles in the Church.
Last week, Focus on the Family hosted a conference for pastors and their spouses. The complimentary event was aimed at encouraging and equipping pastors to balance their professional ministries and personal lives better.
H.B. London, Vice President of Pastoral Ministries at Focus on the Family, says many churches are struggling because a new generation of men are not getting involved in church leadership.
A recent Barna Group survey found that women are by far more inclined than men to say they are absolutely committed to the Christian faith. And many Christian congregations are able to supply anecdotal evidence of the dearth of male leadership and involvement in church activities.
However, London believes these trends can be turned around.
At the pastors conference, FOTF's head of Pastoral Ministries assured the congregational leaders that if they would only "buy into the economy of a ministry to men," they would find "that all of a sudden, there's a new sense of purpose and exhilaration and meaning about what you do."
London pointed out that he hears pastors say all the time how incredibly busy they are in their ministries, yet they often feel unsure about whether they are actually making an impact or effecting genuine change in people's lives.
But again, he assured his audience of clergy, if they would only make a priority of creating vibrant men's ministries, the pastors would soon find themselves confessing, "I am so busy - busier than I've ever been before - but I'm making a difference."
The speaker also remarked that a lack of pastoral direction is often one of the main reasons churches have failed to do effective outreach and Christian discipleship development among men.
"What I've seen all along," he noted, "is that pastors get a group of guys together and say, 'The men's ministry responsibility is your responsibility.' But if pastors don't take the lead, I promise you, it will not succeed the way we want it to. "
Focus on the Family will hold similar pastors conferences throughout the United States in months to come. Through such events, London hopes more Christian pastors will be encouraged to put special emphasis on building dynamic men's ministries.
Focus on the Family (www.family.org)
(c) 2005, Agape Press