by Ian Kayser

It's been said that men are essential for a church that is committed to building the church. There are stats that say that if you win a child with the gospel, you have a 25% chance of reaching the family. If you win a wife with the gospel there is a is 29% the rest of the family will show up at church. But if you win a man to Christ, you have a 95% chance of capturing an entire family. This is incredible, Yet many churches have trouble connecting with men. These statistics say it all:

• 85% of unchurched men were at one time connected with a church
• For the last three decades the number of men in the local church has declined and will likely continue to decline
• Various surveys show that only 25% of men that attend church are satisfied with themselves as fathers.
• Other surveys show that 75% of men that attend church have feelings that they don’t share with anyone.
• There is an overwhelming sense that many Christian men feel alone.

There are lots of reasons as to why men don’t like church and books have been written on this stuff. I don’t really know why men have an aversion to church, but could it be that their friends don’t come to church? Or another way of putting it is this: men like being with their friends and they tend to go where friendship can be found. Whether we are talking about playing golf, hunting or watching the game, men love being with other men. Men also love to talk about three things when they are with their friends: news, weather, and sports.

As I look at my own journey with the Lord, my walk with Jesus has been the most vibrant when I’ve had other men in my life that went beyond just news, weather and sports. I know I’ve needed other men that would hold me accountable, press me further into the gospel, help me practice spiritual discipline, and love me enough to speak truth into my life when I needed to hear truth. These men are my friends and our friendships have been spiritual! Some of these guys are nothing like me, but we have shared Jesus with one another and we’ve been better for it.

This is why I am excited about what is coming up this spring for men at Westminster. Next week (January 17), we are hosting the Men’s Steak Supper where Brian Sorgenfrei will be speaking and there will be steak. Do I need to say anything else? Then, for the next 6 weeks, we will be having the Man Cave, where we will be looking at “A Man and His Traps”. Watch the video below for more information:

33 Volume 3: A Man and His Traps from 33 The Series on Vimeo.

So if you are a man and would like to grow strong in your faith, you will need other men that will come alongside you in your faith. I want to encourage you to come to The Men’s Steak Supper and to the Man Cave this spring with an eye towards forging spiritual friendship with other men.