Attracting and keeping Christlike men to serve the children and youth in your ministry is a significant challenge. Here are the three most common mistakes that leaders often make:

1. Using guilt to manipulate men to serve. Men want to be part of something bigger than themselves and are more responsive to being inspired than to being shamed into reluctant service. We need to help them understand that kids ministry is really the frontline of ministry.

2. Not giving men clear expectations. Let’s face it…many ministry leaders are often juggling so many balls they tend to drop a few. This is problematic because men respect leaders who are well organized and know exactly where they’re going. We need to be clear about how we measure success in ministry and what part volunteers play in accomplishing that success.

3. Gearing recruitment and training toward women. Most men don’t naturally lean to the “emotional side” and usually won’t look for ways to nurture, so we’ve got to help them use their natural gifts to connect with kids and young people. Some of the greatest times of ministry between men and kids will be on a basketball court, a mountain bike trail, or at a Taco Bell. So when men experience effectiveness in discipling/mentoring within these settings, they can, and often do, become more sensitive to the progress kids are making. If we don’t allow for the natural ways men influence the lives of kids, they may come to the conclusion that “it’s just not for me.”

Many children and youth today need a positive male role model in their life. If we design recruitment methods with these suggestions in mind, we may discover that the men outnumber the women serving in kids ministry!