Method of Ministering to Men Must Change, Ministry Leaders Say

With an outdated Minolta 101 camera body in his hands, Fortson stressed the need for change in order to reach men. ''The question I have to ask is, are we 35 millimeter ministries in a digital world?''

By Audrey Barrick, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, April 27, 2006

"Where have all the young men gone?" – a question increasingly raised in the Christian community and the recent The Coming of Age book on the identity and spirituality of younger men. The issue was addressed at the National Coalition of Men's Ministries annual Spring Conference held this past weekend.

"Our task ahead is monumental,” said Dr. Tom Fortson, president and CEO of Promise Keepers, which is a part of the NCMM. "By nature of the job we have (ministering to men), we're in a dogfight."

The conference gathered men in Broomfield, Colo., where David Murrow, director of Church for Men; H.B. London Jr., vice president of Ministry Outreach/Pastoral Ministries for Focus on the Family; Greg Stier, founder and president of Dare 2 Share Ministries International; and Miles McPherson, founder and president of Miles Ahead Ministries, discussed the tools for effective ministry to men.

"Give men what they need and are willing to do in the context of what they want," stated Dr. Jim Guth at one of the conference workshops.

With an outdated Minolta 101 camera body in his hands, Fortson stressed the need for change in order to reach men.

"The question I have to ask is, are we 35 millimeter ministries in a digital world? The world has changed," he said, according to Promise Keepers. "Our method in ministering to men must change. Not our message, not the fundamentals of the faith, but our methodology."

"In the midst of changing times, we must change."

In speaking, Fortson mentioned Promise Keepers' 2006 Unleashed conferences that will hit the nation to ignite men beginning June 2.

"At this year's "Unleashed" men's conferences, we want men to discover who they are in Jesus Christ. We want men to optimize their talents and gifts. And then we want men to move out!"

The National Coalition of Men's Ministries is a partnership of over 75 men's organizations, both independent and denominationally affiliated. The coalition serves to advance men's ministries, to assist in the discipleship of Christian men, and to help spread the good news of Jesus Christ to all men.