Thu 10 Apr 2008

How Can We Get Men More Involved in Church Work?

Posted by info under Attracting Worship Guests
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How can we engage men in church work? I ask this after visiting  congregation where I only saw four men present on a Sunday and one of them was the pastor. Men represent approximately 48% of the United States population but in many of our congregations the percent of men is well below fifty percent. As I talk with Christians at my seminars, I often hear the comment of how difficult it is to get men active in the work of the church.

As we approach Mother’s Day, I can not help but ponder the thought. What will congregations say to the many unchurched men that may come on Mother’s Day to honor the women in their lives? Will we invite them back? What will we invite them to? Will there be a special “shout out” to the men that tells them they are welcomed?

My small informal survey with men at various churches has drawn me to this conclusion. If we want to encourage active participation of men in ministry, we must intentionally reach out to men and invite them to do something that gets them involved right away. In talking to a gentleman in his 40’s last Sunday, he summed it up this way: “Men like to do things like cook food, serve the homeless, help out the seniors or anything that gets them together for a good purpose.” He alsod, shared, “we like stuff that gets us right in the middle of it right away.”

As I write this blog, I simply would like to lift up the question, how is your ministry actively engaging men in the work of the church?

 

 

Tue 12 Feb 2008

How Can Graying Congregations Reach Young Families?

Posted by info under Attracting Worship Guests
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“Can we reach young adults when most of our members are over 60 years old?” Recently, a ministry leader asked this question at one of our Attract Reach Keep Seminar events. The question was posed as the participant was wondering how to be relevant to young families even if there are no babies in the congregation. As we begin this new season in 2008, I cannot help but think this question or a similar one may be on the minds of many congregations that wish to be faithful to the Great Commission.

Many church pews are graying. In conversations with pastors of several congregations, church leaders have often discovered that the one group missing from their pews are young families with children. The task of reaching out to this next generation of believers becomes particularly challenging when the members don’t text message, instant message, blog, or in many cases do email.

Reaching out to young families may require members to pray for open minds, warm hearts and a spirit that welcomes change, new ideas and new people. Today’s young families are not like the families of the 50’s and 60’s. The microwave, Internet and fast track daily schedules have changed their available time, interests and how they communicate. Getting families of 2008 to stop, listen and respond, may take more than changing the words on the marquee on the church lawn. Although the Message of the Gospel has not changed, I do believe the way we communicate to attract, reach and keep young families has changed. I am curious. How has your congregation overcome the communication barriers that may hinder a graying congregation from reaching out to young families?