How to grow your church
The solution is to get more men in church. Mark Driscoll’s strategy of specifically targeting men is the way to go.
“A study from Hartford Seminary found that the presence of involved men was statistically correlated with church growth, health, and harmony. Meanwhile, a lack of male participation is strongly associated with congregational decline.”*
A quote from David Murrow at churchformen.org :
A business guru once said, “Your system is perfectly designed to give you the results you’re getting.” Christianity’s primary delivery system, the local church, is perfectly designed to reach women and older folks. That’s why our pews are filled with them. But this church system offers little to stir the masculine heart, so men find it dull and irrelevant. The more masculine the man, the more likely he is to dislike church.
What do I mean? Men and young adults are drawn to risk, challenge and adventure. But these things are discouraged in the local church. Instead, most congregations offer a safe, nurturing community – an oasis of stability and predictability. Studies show that women and seniors gravitate toward these things. Although our official mission is one of adventure, the actual mission of most congregations is making people feel comfortable and safe – especially longtime members.
If you want to turn around congregational decline, target men. That means making church more attractive to the average male – and I don’t mean seeker sensitive. Jesus constantly threw up challenges beginning with ‘If…”, barriers and hurdles, which includes being tough on doctrine, holiness (the male kind), accountability and comradery. A challenge for us all, men and women.
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1 C. Kirk Hadaway, FACTs on Growth: A new look at the dynamics of growth and decline in American congregations based on the Faith Communities Today 2005 national survey of Congregations. Hartford Institute for Religion Research, http://hirr.hartsem.edu.
