MORE THAN 85 per cent of Christian men in the U.S. say they are not spiritually challenged, according to a recent survey released this week by the international men's ministry - Promise Keepers.
The survey also shows nearly six in ten men are "marginally satisfied" with their church experience. Furthermore, most men ranked family, money and health as more important than spirituality.
The study was conducted in the period July 24-September 4, 2003, by the California-based Barna Research Group. The research sample included 415 men chosen randomly, and 200 men from Promise Keepers' own constituent files. The men polled were drawn from six major cities who considered themselves 'committed, born-again Christians' or 'active church members.' The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 5 per cent.
Promise Keepers, which is based in Denver, Colorado, was founded in 1990 by former University of Colorado football coach Bill McCartney. The group, which is evangelical in its outlook, encourages men to take family and Christian living seriously.
The survey shows that while spirituality and faith may not be top priorities - family and children are (42 per cent), along with career/money (39 per cent), and health concerns (20 per cent).
"It's certainly clear to us that we have a great mission field in front of us in reaching the men of America," said Tom Forston, Ph.D., president and CEO of the 14-year-old ministry. "Much, much more needs to be done to engage men with their spiritual side, and then to see them make an impact on their families, churches and communities. We've only scratched the surface."
LOOKING FOR WAYS TO EXPAND
While Promise Keepers have strong awareness among churched men, more than half of Christian men (54 per cent) have heard of Promise Keepers, but never attended a meeting. "We are gratified that so many men who call themselves Christians or who attend church know about our work," Fortson said. "Still, we are looking for ways to expand our influence not only in the church, but into the broader society as well."
Seventeen per cent of the sample had attended a Promise Keepers men's conference. One out of every three men sampled (32 per cent) had never heard of Promise Keepers. Those who have never been to a Promise Keepers event are significantly less likely to have ever attended any kind of faith or family conference.
The surveyed showed that the most common reason men attended events was because of relationships they had forged with someone in the movement. Fifty-two per cent of the random list and 44 per cent of the Promise Keepers list said that they attended because someone invited them or they knew someone else who was going. A most striking finding was that so few members of random respondents ( seven per cent) -and the Promise Keepers list (26 per cent) - attended Promise Keepers for reasons of spiritual growth (i.e., to get closer to God, to grow spiritually, to receive spiritual encouragement, renewal or strength, and so on).
One-third of Promise Keepers attenders said that the event caused a personal change to occur in their lives, and one in eight indicated that the event was one of the most significant, life-changing events they had experienced. Others felt that Promise Keepers had been a good experience, but that it simply confirmed what they were already doing.
THE TYPICAL CHRISTIAN MAN
The surveyed showed that the typical Christian man has about four deep, close friendships with other men - about three out of those four men are Christians. Only 42 per cent of men said they would turn to Christian friends in times of crisis in their family or job. These data suggest that even though men have what they consider to be close Christian friends in place, those networks of relationships do not typically get used effectively.
Overall, it was found that one-third of the random sample (31 per cent) claimed to be actively participating in a small group of men from their church that meets for accountability, Bible study, and prayer. By contrast, two-thirds of the Promise Keepers list (65 percent) claimed small group participation. Overall, three out of five respondents (60 per cent) agreed that Promise Keepers would be more attractive if there were a strong follow-up system to link men in friendships.
When asked specifically about spiritual needs, the survey found many men (1) could not think of any, or (2) identified superficial goals.
The commissioned study when compared to similar studies involving women, reveals that men were less likely to take leadership roles at church or set spiritual goals.
"It's certainly clear to us that we have a great mission field in front of us in reaching the men of America," said Tom Forston. "Much, much more needs to be done to engage men with their spiritual side, and then to see them make an impact on their families, churches and communities. We've only scratched the surface."
"We are gratified that so many men who call themselves Christians or who attend church know about our work," Fortson said. "Still, we are looking for ways to expand our influence not only in the church, but into the broader society as well."
Report drawn from the Associated Press and www.promisekeepers.com. An executive summary as well as the full report are available on the Promise Keepers' web site.
