Went on a mission fundraiser and was interested to find out that of the eight or so going on the trip there was only one male, and his main reason for going was that his wife was on the team. I was wondering whether this says something about the trip, the group, or maybe the church that was sending them.
Questions surfaced, such as: Where are the men? Do we really have a 6:1 female: male ratio? Are there features of this trip that inherently appeal to females? Is that a good or bad thing?
So many questions. Probably more than there are answers. Yet some clarity was reached after a conversation with a male friend on the topic.
Generally speaking males are task oriented and have a need / want to accomplish something and see results of labour. These activities include building and fixing things. It’s the way males are wired.
Males also have a natural desire to be the provider for the family. This creates some conflict when opportunities come to be involved in mission work. Quitting a job could be deemed unreasonable. But then if you were truly called into ministry you would do whatever was necessary.
Mission trips primarily about engaging, teaching and relationship building are then naturally going to appeal more the females. Males shouldn’t avoid these mission opportunities although we do build relationships better with other men when “doing”.
I heard a man speak from Opportunity International who was using his skills in finance to provide microloans to small businesses in India. Just like my friend working with Global Recordings using his skills in electronics. Both great examples of “doing” in ministry and good uses of their own interests and skills.
Questions surfaced, such as: Where are the men? Do we really have a 6:1 female: male ratio? Are there features of this trip that inherently appeal to females? Is that a good or bad thing?
So many questions. Probably more than there are answers. Yet some clarity was reached after a conversation with a male friend on the topic.
Generally speaking males are task oriented and have a need / want to accomplish something and see results of labour. These activities include building and fixing things. It’s the way males are wired.
Males also have a natural desire to be the provider for the family. This creates some conflict when opportunities come to be involved in mission work. Quitting a job could be deemed unreasonable. But then if you were truly called into ministry you would do whatever was necessary.
Mission trips primarily about engaging, teaching and relationship building are then naturally going to appeal more the females. Males shouldn’t avoid these mission opportunities although we do build relationships better with other men when “doing”.
I heard a man speak from Opportunity International who was using his skills in finance to provide microloans to small businesses in India. Just like my friend working with Global Recordings using his skills in electronics. Both great examples of “doing” in ministry and good uses of their own interests and skills.
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I heard a statistic once that said 1/3 of all missionaries are married couples, 1/3 are families and 1/3 are female....
Any suggestions of how we could change this statistic?
Thanks for the stat Sheree. So it appears no males on their own are getting involved in mission. various reasons for this. I think I touched on a few.
To get blokes involved the mission trips need to be targeted towards typically "masculine" activities.
consider checking out David Murrow's "Why Men Hate Going To Church" or my post on the same book. go to the books link in the topics list
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