6 Seasoned Pastors On Best Practices For Men’s Ministry

Over the past year, those who track religious statistics have been surprised by a trend so rare it hasn’t been recorded before: Gen-Z is the first generation in American history whose men are more likely to go to church than women are.

In fact, about a quarter of men born after 2000 say they attend church weekly—higher than both their female counterparts and men born between 1960 and the 21st century. Gen-Z men are also more likely than millennial men—and just as likely as Gen-Z women—to say religion is important to them.

One possible reason: The church is providing a robust, vibrant vision of masculinity.

“I feel masculine when I worship with my wife during the weekly service, building a relationship centered on faith,” writes Gen-Z content strategist and seminary student Luke Simon. “I feel masculine when I meet with my friends for a Bible study where we challenge each other and grow in spiritual brotherhood. I feel masculine when I work hard at my job for the benefit of my community, knowing my efforts contribute to something larger than myself.”

For a generation presented with two extreme versions of masculinity—egotistic and dominant or passive and hesitant—the church offers a better, truer, and healthier vision of manhood, according to Simon.

How can a church do this well?

The Gospel Coalition asked a handful of pastors about the biggest need they see for men’s discipleship in their church and the best thing they’ve done—or seen another church do—for men.

Biggest Need

“Of course, men ultimately need the gospel,” said Chad Steenwyk, senior pastor at Central Avenue Christian Reformed Church (CRC) in Holland, Michigan. “But in an era where there is great gospel confusion—social justice, fundamentalistic legalism, therapeutic moral deism—men need doctrinal and confessional discipleship.”

In other words, “men need to get back to the basics of who God is, who Christ is, and what the gospel is,” he said. “To counter the feminization of the American church, some have tried to masculinize it instead. However, to truly lead and love as Christ does his church, men need to know him first and foremost.”

And they need to do that together, said Stephen Witmer, pastor of Pepperell Christian Fellowship in Massachusetts. “The biggest need is for men to be intentionally discipled by other men.”

Because even if men do have a tight grasp on doctrine, it isn’t always clear how they’re supposed to translate those beliefs into leadership.

At Coram Des in Omaha, men are called to take responsibility for leading at church and at home / Courtesy of Bob Thune

“While many men begin their spiritual journey focused on personal growth, they are often unprepared to lead others spiritually,” said Walter Strickland, teaching pastor at Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Pastor Darryl Williamson sees this where he pastors at Living Faith Bible Fellowship in Tampa, Florida.

“We need to develop a vision for how men can faithfully serve Christ in the church even if they are not pastors or in the worship band,” he said. “I observe a longing for greater processing about personal issues—transparency being perceived as the breakthrough discipleship gate—but the real need is to find ways to serve Christ faithfully. As pastors we have to be able to help men to see how they can serve faithfully and fruitfully.”

Leadership is also a challenge at home, said Michael Lawrence, pastor at Hinson Baptist Church in Portland, Oregon.

“Most of our younger men did not have solid biblical models of complementarianism at home growing up, and it’s difficult to learn how to lead your wife and children from reading books,” he said. “They need to see it in action, and we simply don’t have enough older men who can model it for them.”

Best Thing We’ve Done

1. Call to Leadership

Though men might not feel comfortable leading, it’s important to ask them to step up anyway.

At Central Avenue CRC, “men have been held responsible for the ordained leadership roles in the church,” Steenwyk said. They’ve risen to the occasion. “It is in the Council and consistory room where deliberate discipleship and training in shepherding the congregation, as well as their families, happens.”

2. One-on-One Bible Study

Nobody wants untrained or ineffective leaders—and nobody wants to be one. One of the best ways to train men for leadership is “one-to-one discipling and small discipling groups,” Witmer said. “Through that basic approach, we’ve seen guys come to Jesus, new believers matured, and guys trained for leadership in the church.”

Witmer learned from an experience at St. Andrew the Great in Cambridge, England.

Right to left: Stephen Witmer, his former intern, his pastoral resident, and his new associate pastor. Witmer said, “[This picture] is especially precious to me because it represents our church’s commitment to raising up more gospel workers.” / Courtesy of Stephen Witmer“They had built a culture of one-to-one discipleship that was so pervasive that I’m guessing 60–70 percent of people in the church were reading the Bible one-to-one with another Christian,” he said. “It was amazing and very fruitful for evangelism and discipleship.”

Steenwyk said Bible study is the core of his men’s ministry. Williamson agreed.

“I like what Immanuel Church in Nashville does in equipping all men in the Word,” Williamson said. “I have seen [pastor emeritus] Ray Ortlund richly connect biblical learning times, even deep Old Testament study, with personal encouragement and engagement.”

If you’re looking for titles, Pepperell uses the Matthias Media booklet Just for Starters with new believers.

“That’s been very effective,” Witmer said. “I have led four discipling groups of 12 to 18 months each, with five to seven guys in each group. We’ve taught them how to study the Bible and teach a Bible study, we’ve read theology together, and we’ve grown deep in relationship.”

Recently, he’s led three one-year elder training tracks using Bob Thune’s Gospel Eldership. “We have godly men currently serving as elders who have come through those training tracks,” he said.

3. Cultivate Friendships

Another benefit of small-group studies is the relationships that develop. In 1990, just 3 percent of men reported they had no close friends. By 2021, it was 15 percent. For men younger than 30, it was 28 percent.

“One of the most meaningful things we offer men is book studies,” Strickland said. “These groups meet at various times throughout the week and cover a range of topics. This format addresses two common challenges many adult men face: first, a lack of deep male friendships, and second, difficulty moving beyond surface-level conversation.”

As men get older, they carry a lot of time-consuming responsibilities—work, marriage, parenting, and community involvement, Strickland said. “These obligations make it difficult to form friendships that naturally grow from spending large amounts of time together, like many experienced during college.”

If those men move to a new community, forming deep friendships is even more challenging, he said.

“A church serves men well by creating intentional environments where spiritual growth and accountability are expected—what Scripture describes as ‘iron sharpening iron,’” he said. “Over time, these structured gatherings often lead to more organic, informal relationships.”

4. Gather

Friendships can also begin in larger group settings. At Pepperell, men have gone on retreats, canoe trips, and bowling outings. They’ve done work projects, come out for game nights, and cooked and eaten breakfasts with lots of bacon.

In the Cadets program at Central Avenue CRC, older and younger men work on projects together. / Courtesy of Chad Steenwyk

“Those have all been good—they’ve deepened relationships, pointed us to Christ, and provided opportunities for guys to invite their non-Christian friends along,” Witmer said.

In the Northwest, Hinson Baptist is also pulling men together.

“The best programmatic thing we do for men is our quarterly Friday night gathering,” Lawrence said. “It involves copious amounts of grilled meat, teaching on a relevant topic—this year we’re working through Jonathan Leeman’s book Authority—and discussion around tables.”

That’s been working great, he said. “It draws a large range of men and has been helpful in facilitating ongoing relationships.”

In Tampa, the men of Living Faith get together each month on a Saturday morning.

“That begins with breakfast fellowship and then includes a time in the Word or other instruction,” Williamson said.

Then, at 10 a.m., they get to work.

5. Active Service

For about two hours, the Living Faith men do maintenance around the church, assist church members in their homes, or serve neighbors in the church’s immediate neighborhood.

“We felt that the pathway to building a strong men’s community, including cementing relationships, would take more than times of conversational transparency, but also doing meaningful work together,” Williamson said. “We talk about making our presence felt in the church and in the neighborhood as men. We say that God has a special gift to offer in the presence of godly men, and we want that to be seen and felt.”

The men in Living Faith spend time in Bible study and fellowship before heading out to work. / Courtesy of Darryl Williamson

Strickland said the same thing.

“In addition to creating environments for intentional, deep relationships, it’s important to recognize that many men naturally build connections by working side-by-side,” he said. “Serving together toward a shared, mission-focused goal not only advances the church’s mission but also gives men an opportunity to relearn how to form friendships.”

This can often be done in partnership with other local churches.

“We’ve really benefitted from joining in with another like-minded local church’s men’s retreat/camping trip,” Lawrence said.

In Michigan, “one area church has an off-site ministry for community boys that primarily teaches life skills—electrical, plumbing, hunting, and such,” Steenwyk said. “We have had men in our congregation involved who may not be natural teachers nor have confidence in a class setting. But through hands-on activities they develop relationships with young men as a way to speak of Christ and demonstrate the transforming nature of the gospel.”

Nothing New

Men’s ministry at Central Avenue CRC in the 1960s. / Courtesy of Chad Steenwyk

These ideas are not new or startling. From asking men to serve as deacons to offering men’s Bible studies to organizing Tuesday night soccer scrimmages at a local park, faithful church leaders are doing what they’ve long done.

“The best thing we do for men is to call them to be involved in our normal gospel communities—small groups—and constantly call them to take responsibility for spiritual leadership in their homes, in their small groups, and throughout our church,” said Bob Thune, pastor at Coram Deo Church in Omaha, Nebraska.

“When we do that, it tends to create growing, hungry, spiritually mature men—or at least to incentivize men in that direction, by God’s grace.”