PART 5: A FEW GOOD MEN?

I wonder if other churches are facing the same dilemma today...there are missing pieces in our fellowships: men, boys, fathers, and grandfathers. What has caused this drift away from our churches? Could it be lack of service opportunities in line with their gifts? Could it be lack of programs/ministry geared specifically for these groups? Could it be the church mentality that men only want to play/watch sports and fix things but give no emphasis on spiritual development?
Whenever I discuss this among fellow ministers and officers, manytimes the attitude is taken that we as women officers are just mad because we have to plan more programming than the men. When we view the lack of ministry to men as a "work" contest this is where the point is totally missed! For The Salvation Army, although we are partnered in ministry with spouses, this has not always been the reality with programming. Back in the day (and some exist today), the men were responsible for administration, public relations, and fundraising and the women were responsible for programming/ministry opportunities. Although not the Army mandate, this was still the practice. So, the result was more women/children's programming and no real emphasis on men's fellowship and spiritual development.
Understanding this history, we can see some explanation about how we are experiencing such an imbalance in our congregation's make-up. I can go into the whole discussion about the structure and make-up of our divisional/territorial/international positions and the imbalance that is occuring in the administration of these ministries...But what do we do now? Where do we go from here? How do we quickly but effectively address this problem? What resourcing can be done throughout the "ranks" to ensure the necessary materials and information are given to the field? How do we on the field get the information up through the ranks? Again, if there is any suggestions that other churches have found useful, anything in your experience as an officer, soldier, or other church member...please help us figure this out!