NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Did you know that if a child is the first person in a household to become a Christian, there is a 3.5 percent probability everyone else in the household will follow?

If the mother is the first to become a Christian, there is a 17 percent probability everyone else in the household will follow.

But if the father is first, there is a 93 percent probability everyone else in the household will follow.*

"I doubt that comes as a great surprise to most people," said Sid Woodruff, men's ministry specialist at LifeWay Christian Resources. "We don't have to have statistics to tell us this is true. There is something in the hard-wiring of creation that naturally causes wives and children to look to husbands and fathers to lead out."

The statistics, Woodruff said, shout the importance of churches becoming more intentional in their development of ministries for men.

"If you reach the men, you reach the families," he said. "But to reach the men, you have to enter into their world."

Of about 94 million men in the United States, Woodruff said, 68 million don't attend any church, but 85 percent of those say they did grow up with some sort of church background.

These men aren't necessarily opposed to going to church, Woodruff said. They just don't see churches as being "male-friendly."

"Churches by and large are doing a great job in women's ministries," Woodruff said. "In some ways, it's easier to arrange than men's ministries. Women, by nature, tend to enjoy getting together and talking to each other. Men don't necessarily think about doing that. In fact, men tend to isolate themselves. We need to find ways to get men talking to each other and forming relationships around topics and activities that interest them."

Woodruff suggests equipping men to minister to each other and others through short-term mission projects.

"It's no surprise that men like to do things," Woodruff said. "We like projects."

You can start by identifying at least one man in your church committed to developing a disciple-making men's ministry, says Woodruff, and then provide training and resources to equip this leader and assist him in forming a core group for men's ministry.

Having the pastor behind a men's ministry program is crucial, Woodruff said. "Men will see it as important only if the pastor supports it."

Using his own church, First Baptist of Hendersonville, Tenn., as an example, Woodruff said his pastor, Glenn Weekley, took a positive step by inviting men to participate in a weekly men's prayer group.

"What we started was a 6:30 a.m. men's prayer time every Saturday morning," Woodruff said. "There has never been a mighty movement of God apart from prayer," he said, noting that the prayer group has been meeting every Saturday morning for five years. The leaders of the church's men's ministries have been drawn from this group of praying men, Woodruff said.

"The pastor has been able to use this prayer group as a means of entry for men who visit the church and ask what's available for them," Woodruff said. "The pastor isn't involved in every ministry we do for men, but by being involved in this prayer group, he can bring a man to the prayer time, then introduce him to other men there who can help guys plug into a group where they will feel comfortable."

 Conference for Men