By Jeffrey W. Bennett

 Do you know guys like my friend Matt? You start talking about ministry, missions or evangelism and you can almost anticipate their body language. Quick nodding, shrugging, the trailing of eyes. They want to fulfill the Great Commission, but, they explain, they just don’t have the time or the skills to do missions work and evangelism. They have plenty of excuses for not participating. They work 60 hours a week. They’re not handy with a hammer. They’d rather not approach complete strangers to inflict religiosity. Or, they might argue, their wives “take care of that department.” Churches are full of young men who aren’t quite sure where or how they fit in when it comes to reaching others for Christ.

Like my friend, many men are extremely busy and may not be as involved with activities in the local church as they’d like. Until recently, I’ve been guilty of the same omission. While raising a family, going to graduate school and concentrating on a career, I’ve focused on doing things under my own power and giving what’s left over to the Lord.

The emphasis on wrong priorities can cause us to work under our own power to shape our service instead of letting God develop our spiritual lives.

You may have noticed many young men filling our pews and Sunday school chairs. They love the Lord, are faithful in attendance and tithing, but are noncommittal in teaching, serving or volunteering for missions. However, they support their wives’ service in the nursery, children’s programs, choir or other ministries. They may even stay home with the kids while their wives attend to these critical ministries. However, men aren’t made to sit still and watch things happen. Nor is that God’s purpose for them. The Lord is looking for men to carry out his mission and lead others to Christ.

Look around and observe the conversation. Chances are men are talking about work, clubs, school or other organizations. Men want to belong, and it’s important to show how involvement in missions and belonging to a church body fulfills the Great Commission, satisfies their need for organization and helps develop savvy leadership skills. You probably already have powerful programs at your church just begging for men to get involved.

So, how do we tap into this pool of talented young men? How can we show them how to be obedient to God’s call while successfully balancing their lives at work and home?

Mentoring

Like my friend, many don’t realize their spiritual gifts are needed. I have a lot to offer, but how are my spiritual gifts valuable? Others have natural abilities they may not be aware of. I’m not really good at anything, and I doubt the church can use me.

An important step is mentoring young men to help them identify their spiritual gifts. Leading a Bible study on spiritual gifts and having participants take a spiritual gifts inventory is a great way to help men discover their own gifts.

In addition to spiritual gifts, you’ll want to help them discover their natural abilities and how they fit into ministry. Here are some questions to help identify natural abilities as well as interests and how they apply to ministry in the church.

What motivates you? How and where do you spend your spare time?

What natural abilities do you have? In what areas are you most successful?

What do you do on the job? Do you enjoy your work?

What skills would you like to learn? What ministries are you interested in? Is there a specific group of people you’re drawn to (internationals, senior adults, college students, children, etc.)?

There are several resources for helping people identify spiritual gifts and showing them how their gifts as well as abilities fit certain types of ministries. On Mission recommends SHAPE (Saddleback Church) and Next Level (NAMB, www.nextlevelleadership.com).

Matching men to ministry

One secret to successful men’s involvement is matching their abilities with needs in the church. When you can take a man and pair his vocational skills with a specific need, it lifts him up and affirms him even more as a man called by God, set apart by God for a purpose.

Announcing a need and waiting for volunteers to sign up may not be the most effective way to get new people involved. Volunteers tend to be the same people who have stepped up countless times before. Intentional recruiting—matching skills with opportunities—provides a proactive and positive solution to helping young men answer the call.

Travis is a self-starter and owns his own business. He’s using his organizational skills to coordinate a men’s Bible study at work. Bill was an engineer for 30 years before he retired. Today he’s leading construction teams to help rebuild a community devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Effectiveness comes from linking men with ministries that fit them.

Once men realize how their skills benefit the mission, they’ll provide a powerful boost to the mission needs. In the Army, we called such an opportunity to increase effectiveness Force Multipliers. In the church, these multipliers are leaders, repairers, team builders, teachers and businessmen. Many are looking for a place to belong.

Ideas for ministry

Mount Zion Baptist Church in Monrovia, Alabama, has programs perfect for involving men. Their missions and service opportunities range from simple tasks to complex, program management. Mount Zion Baptist also uses the Acts 1: 8 Challenge as their missions strategy. With that in mind, here are some great missions opportunities for men.

Jerusalem (the local community). Upward Basketball provides tremendous impact to local missions with a Bible-based program. Sports ministries need Christian coaches, referees and volunteers who can share testimonies during half-time. Sports ministries provide plenty of opportunities for young men to influence lives.

Also, Royal Ambassadors, AWANA, TeamKIDS and other mentorship programs continuously seek teachers, substitutes, leaders or assistants. It doesn’t require much homework, and what the children learn may impact them forever.

Judea (state). Short-term mission trips within your state are a great way to get men involved in ministry. Our church has been building and repairing homes a few counties away. A lot of work and ministry is done in a very short weekend. Teams have a critical need for people who can organize, lead construction projects or maintain budgets. Labor skills—like cleaning yards, building ramps, replacing toilets or repairing roofs—are easy enough to teach to those who have little or no experience in these areas.

Samaria (North America). Recently Mt. Zion Baptist met Katrina Relief needs on the Gulf Coast. The missions committee identified hurting communities and within two weeks a scout team narrowed our focus to a town in Mississippi. A team ministered to hurricane victims by providing meals, helping with cleanup and rebuilding homes. Not only did laborers join in, but those less skilled with hammers who had a keen eye for project management, risk assessment and prioritization pulled it all together.

The ends of the earth. Our church has planned mission trips to Ukraine and Guatemala for the coming year. Members will evangelize, provide sports training, lead Sunday school lessons, join medical teams and teach organization. These types of missions require recruiting people with specific skills. However vast and untapped resources exist with talented young men who are sports enthusiasts, teachers, engineers, leaders and medical professionals.

Remember my young friend who had not been active in ministry? I later asked him about using his medical equipment repair skills for an upcoming medical mission trip. Though busy with family and grad studies, he’s adjusting his schedule to go on mission in 2007.

So, what are we waiting for? Let’s get to the task of channeling the ocean of talented men in our churches. They’re ready and willing to work with the right encouragement.

The local church is vital in changing lives within the community, the state, the continent and to the ends of the earth. Jesus thought it was important enough to recruit, organize and train men to go out and point people to God. Let’s use the same commitment He demonstrated to welcome all into mission service.