Over the past few years, I've had opportunity to work with thousands of men's leaders and pastors across the Southeast. These guys work hard preparing for monthly men's gatherings and offer dozens of small-group connection points for the men in their respective churches. Many also express frustration in asking men to come, yet getting poor results.

I remember one group in particular who asked me to meet with them, in an effort to drive more attendance to their group. "What are you doing with the men who do come?" I asked. "Well," the leader replied, "we're currently studying The Confessions of St. Augustine." Now, granted, The Confessions of St. Augustine is a great book, and I ultimately read it as a result of our meeting. But let's be honest: If you, like me, have kids, a job, a yard and the accompanying honey-do list, how motivated would you be to come to "study" anything on a Saturday morning, much less a book with such an ominous title?

There's a lot of competition for men's time, especially on a Saturday morning. So in order to compete, we need to do something that guys will perceive as valuable. Here's a new perspective as you build a small group: Focus your energy on working through the stuff that we guys struggle with every day. With the economic challenges, marital struggles, raising kids and, just keeping our lives in balance in general, let's focus our small-group attention on surviving these daily battles. Instead of random programs, consider a more interactive, short-term approach to addressing a very specific need in the lives of your guys.

For example, let's examine the process for a financial gathering for men. Your invitation strategy should loudly cry out the purpose and should scream value. For example, take a look at the following two invitations, then decide for yourself which might have more "traction" when developing interest.

"Hey David! Did you know that Malachi tells us that we are robbing God by not tithing? We are having a men's class on stewardship and money starting next week. Would you like to come?"

"Hey David! If I could show you a way to survive this economy, would that be something you'd be interested in? It starts next week and is going to run an hour tops for six weeks. You should come."

If you're like me, the first offer was man-repellent. You end up feeling convicted, or worse yet, like a total failure. You have no idea how long it will last. And the guy gave you an "out" by asking if you would like to come. It's easy to say "no" to a closed-ended question. The second invitation hits right at the heart of where guys are: "Survive the economy? I am in!" We know it will only be six weeks long, will last only an hour, and the guy really sounds like he wants me there.

Men are tight on time, and the competition for that time is often powerful. Focus on the need, and then take a good hard look at your invitation strategy. Do a little role-playing with the guys around you to see what works best. More often than not, the approach you'd use to invite a friend to a ball game will get better results than the "beat the guy upside the head with the Bible" angle.

Just meet the need, man!

David Dusek is founder and director of Rough Cut Men Ministries, a ministry which uses action-movie clips and relevant men's issues to develop David-and-Jonathan relationships among men. For more information about Rough Cut Men, visit www.roughcutmen.org.