Summitview Men's Ministry Survey Results

I thought I'd share some of the results from the Men's Ministry Survey we handed out last Sunday after the message.  First of all, thank you for your participation.  We had 79 men and 70 women take the survey.

There is a lot to process and pray through after looking at these results.  Some of what was communicated was expected while some was not.  At the bottom of the post is a summary of the men's "Yes/No/Maybe" answers and a (very unscientific) attempt to tally the needs outlined in the comments.  From this information, I make the following observations:

• I knew there was a desire for men's ministry, but the response was almost unanimous.  With the exception of a single no vote and one sheet without an answer, every man wanted to be involved in some way with men's ministry.
• Not surprisingly, there are a variety of ways that men want to see this happen in their own lives.  Unfortunately, we will not be able to fulfill every need listed, but we can work on providing more options.  Social events, a monthly meeting, and one-on-one discipleship were the most desired by men.
• The results clearly say one thing: Men are lonely.  The desire for more social events is one clue, but the comments were very revealing.  Not only did many men say that they do not have significant, deep relationships with other men, but the women in the church (both married and single) saw this clearly as well.  When asked, a man will almost never say he feels lonely, but the truth of the matter is most men are.  Providing more opportunities for more relationships is greatly desired, but we must be careful!  We have to provide opportunities for more meaningful relationships.  Relationship alone does not build disciples and create change.  Relationship alone is fun and easy, relationship that produces change is hard work and time consuming.  We have to be ready for that.
  
• And on that note, there is a clear desire for depth of relationship and growth but also a clear concern about how much commitment that will require.  Discipleship will require sacrifice!  But for men with families, their most important disciples are at home, so we have to be sensitive to that as well.  Striking that balance will be challenging.  I hope we are able to provide a number of opportunities so that men can pick and choose and don't feel obligated to be at everything.  But striking this balance is not just the church's job.  Each man who is pressed for time must evaluate his own life and priorities.  Are we really talking about giving up family time, or is it really sleep time, or TV time, or XBOX time, or internet time?  This may be the toughest challenge we face in implementing new things.
• Finally, men, look at the women's comments.  If we want to know how we need to change, we should probably ask the women first.  They do want us to have strong relationships (they see that many of us are lonely and discouraged), but they see other great needs as well.  Men, the women want you, need you, to lead.  They need all of us to lead in the church (and that means a lot of things, including serving more in the church).  Husbands, your wives are desperately waiting for you to lead in the home, both in your marriage and in your parenting.  I sensed a lot of wives that feel they get no direction or help in the home.  You may want to sit down with your wife and have an honest discussion (actually, why don't you just sit and listen without saying a word or getting defensive).  Single men, don't think this does not apply to you.  Single women were just as strong in this.  Men, the women in our church don't define our manliness by our cars, houses, or how far we can throw a football.  They define it by how serious we are about pursuing God, leading in our families, and leading spiritually in our churches and workplaces.

Again, thanks for your participation.  We've got an adventure ahead.  We need to evaluate everything we do (personally and as a church) and decide how what we do promotes discipleship.  Some things need to be slightly adjusted while others need to be completely set aside.  But the result could be absolutely revolutionary!

Summary of Yes/Maybe/No Answers – Men only
	Y	N	M	No answer	% Yes
Would you want to be involved in men's ministry?	77	1	0	1	97.47
...social events (sports, BBQ, retreats)	66	2	8	3	83.54
...a monthly meeting?	45	2	31	1	56.96
...short term (6-10 week) book/Bible study?	41	4	32	2	51.9
...an ongoing weekly book/Bible study?	27	6	44	2	34.18
...an ongoing weekly accountability group?	39	8	29	3	49.37
...one-on-one discipleship?	45	3	29	2	56.96

Summary of Comments – This is VERY unscientific and the answers are open to interpretation, plus there is a lot of overlap, but this is my tally of the issues brought up in the comments
Men
Relationship/Fellowship	35
Discipleship/Mentoring	21
Lead in Home	14
Strong Pursuit of God	12
Accountability	11
Purpose/Definition of Manhood	10
Unity	9
Bible Study	6
Lead in Church	6
Evangelism/Outreach	5
Character	3
Prayer	3
Consistent Personal Study	3
Fly Fishing Ministry :-)	1
Women
Relationship/Fellowship	28
Lead in Church	25
Lead in Home	24
Strong Pursuit of God	20
Discipleship/Mentoring	19
Evangelism/Outreach	11
Bible Study	7
Accountability	7
Purpose/Definition of Manhood	4
Unity	4
Character	2
Prayer	1
Consistent Personal Study	0
Fly Fishing Ministry	0