Man in the Mirror Ministries asks the question when addressing how to create momentum in your men's ministry: "How do you overcome the inertia in men?" Many men in the local church are not moving forward in their spiritual life. Our challenge is to help them move from their prolonged state of rest to ongoing growth and change. The challenge is great!

Pastors and leaders around the country have worked hard at ministry to men over the years. This has especially been true the last decade as the visibility of men's ministry has been raised. What have been the results of this hard work? Although there are exceptions, the results have typically been a series of starts and stops. Churches experience a short season of success followed by an even longer season of failure. They see men come out to an event or a conference or a series of seminars but are not able to keep the interest of men. Man in the Mirror would call this creating momentum without capturing and sustaining the momentum.

The starts and stops in ministry to men may be due to disconnected entry points, bad timing, poor quality, poor leadership and a host of other reasons. A common reason is lack of attention to the potential return that an event will bring to the ministry. If you and your team work hard to put on a first class entry level event for men, you want to make sure that there is a tangible return for your work.

This is just good stewardship! This return can and should look different for different events. Some examples might include:

        Event                                                         Return
Attend a baseball game      50% of men succeed in bringing a guest
Fathering Seminar              Dads begin to read the Bible to their children
Men's Breakfast                  Men who attend will come to the next breakfast
Serving Projects                 Multiple men serving together
Sunday School Class         Men commit to pray once a week for other men
Men's Conference              Four week follow up for the men who attend
Four Week Follow-up         2 out of 3 men accept an invitation to a small group

Ministry to men is too difficult not to give focused attention to a planned and prayerful return. How does the event fit into your men's ministry calendar? Will it launch what you are planning next for the men? Is there a specific result that can come out of the event? Will the visibility and reputation of the men's ministry be enhanced because of this event? Will new men come to know the Lord or the church or one another because they attended this event?

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