Church for the manly

An Arizona church is trying to change the way men think about church. 
Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Chandler, Ariz., started Man Church, a service just for men.  According to its Web site, cschandler.com, the services have short sermons, donuts, no singing and no women.

The Man Church services are held at 6:30 a.m. Thursday mornings and are separate from the church's five other services on Sunday mornings.

Keith Waters, contact pastor at Christ Temple Church in Huntington, doubts the effect this type of service would have in Huntington.
"I'm open to anything that would get somebody else to church," Waters said. "But I don't know that it would work in this area."
Some Marshall University students agree. Glenn Willis, sophomore science major from Charleston,  W.Va., goes to church and said he would not likely attend a service like that.
"I'm apostolic, and we kind of rock," Willis said.  "I think it would be boring."

Ben Cayton, freshman information systems major at Marshall Community and Technical College, said he would not be interested in going, but for different reasons.

"It's kind of sexist, especially if you're at church," Cayton said.  "I would probably be less likely to go to a service like that because I like it that we go as a family."

A survey conducted by U.S. Congregations showed a gender gap regarding church attendance according to www.uscongregations.org. The survey said 61 percent of church attendees are women while only 39 percent are men.
Waters explained why he thinks a difference exists between men and women at church.

"Church is a feel-good place, and ladies feel more than men do," Waters said. "Not saying that's right or wrong, that's just the way it is. Men are not into the feel-good part of stuff."

Waters was careful to explain this does not discount men.

"I love God greatly and love the experience of being a Christian as much as or more than all the men in the world," Waters said.

Waters said tailoring a service to fit a specific group of people is how most churches work.

"I think most churches figure out what identifies them as a church and they do their services accordingly," Waters said. "The Catholic church as a mass and that is their way of doing their services. Pentecostal churches like the high praise, and they gear their services toward that I think most churches gear there services a particular way."

"Gearing a service just for men, that's just being creative and I don't fault them a bit for it."


Jennifer Chapman can be contacted at eastham1@marshall.edu.