NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The United Methodist Church (UMC) is pushing its congregations to organize men's ministry groups as mandated by the denomination's Book of Discipline.
Reminders of the mandate were mailed to all UMC congregations in early September, according to the United Methodist News Service.
"Regardless of their demographics, churches must learn to disciple men if they are going to have even a possibility for lasting growth," said Joseph Harris, an executive with the Commission on United Methodist Men.
According to data from 1999, the denomination's most recent official statistics, the UMC has 8.3 million lay members. Of those, 248,000 are involved in organized men's ministries, while 875,000 are plugged into women's ministries and 465,000 into youth fellowship.
"Men in today's church want to do more than usher and chair the trustees," said Gil Hanke, president of the National Association of Conference Presidents of United Methodist Men. "They want to grow spiritually and lead others to Christ. They want to make a difference for the kingdom."
Hanke encouraged churches to put young men to work, claiming they're more likely to get involved if they are given a specific task rather than being invited to a "meet and eat" gathering.
