Men need to experience the promised reality that to be in Christ is to know that now there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1). To be set free to live is the opportunity made possible through faith. When this grace is accepted, life begins —  the abundant life promised to all in Christ.

We enter the world connected, but in order to survive, we adopt cultural norms that often limit our sense of self, our understanding of manliness and our connections with others. These disconnections can become norms, habits or even addictions and block our deepest, truest desires for love, goodness and community.

The Church is in the unique position to assist men in understanding their need to be loved and loving. As men begin to experience this new freedom, they respond to opportunities to develop and grow.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) through its men's ministries:

• affirms men and their part in the mission of Jesus Christ;
• teaches men appropriate leadership skills;
• models for men effective organization based upon equality and inclusiveness;
• challenges men's growth in the stewardship of time, talent and treasure.
• builds on men's expertise, gained in their ministries of work;
• upholds the ethics of Christian love for men in their business, family and leisure pursuits;
• takes seriously the spiritual journeys of men, guiding them in prayer and worship;
• calls men to a vital life of witness and evangelism, which is the faithful daily manifestation of the church's authentic life;
• provides opportunities for men to be in fellowship with other men — denominationally, ecumenically and globally;

Men have historically been active in the church's mission, central in the development of the church's lay leadership and dedicated to the task of building bridges to overcome differences. Men's ministries continues to work creatively in these areas of service in partnership with women for the whole work of Christ, and to act responsibly in the ministry that lies before us.

— Written in partnership with the Executive Board of Presbyterian Men, 2001.

The vision for men in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) includes the following areas of ministry:

1. Groups that set the stage for men to experience acceptance, the first step toward genuine love. Men need safe settings to be honest and to express feelings. When men realize that emotions and problems can be shared by others, they can begin to face them with integrity.
   
2. Experiences of healthy communication, allowing the Spirit to lead men into stronger relationships with those closest to them. Personal relationships are enriched as the individual is able to see in others the potential for mutual growing and sharing rather than competition or alienation.
   
3. Study materials that illustrate the new freedom in Christ to which men can respond and in which they can find opportunities for growing and serving. Men need open, non-judgmental ways of learning rather than those that force conformity.
   
4. Opportunities to bring the love of God to all men regardless of their age, ethnic background, sexual orientation, race, social status or religious affiliation. By God's grace we must be open to others in everything that we say and do.
   
5. Affirmation of God's gift of intimacy. The Church can help men understand their need for appropriate sexual activity. It can challenge men to respond to sexually related crises in our society. The church can nurture loving partnerships as of paramount importance in creating community with God at its center.
   
6. Guidance in seeing in a new way our particular work in the world as a call from God and an exciting, primary opportunity for Christian witness. The church can support men who are unemployed or unhappily employed. It can assist them in helping others experience their daily work as ministry.
   
7. Explorations of our deep relationship with the created order and our caring stewardship of all the earth. We are called to be caretakers of God's creation and to have particular regard for other men as brothers and for women as partners in creating vital communities. We need to affirm ourselves as responsible nurturers of the world's children and as dependable participants in healthy family life.
   
8. Insistence that violence destroys rather than develops the relationships on which the social fabric of a just and good society depends. Beyond the damage to relations, violence of any kind (physical, emotional, sexual or spiritual) stunts the growth of persons who resort to such non-solutions. We commit ourselves to opposing any violence that tries to force one position, idea or personal choice upon another. We clearly distinguish between energetic, forceful convictions that are gifts from God, and violence that destroys God's good creation.
   
9. Opportunities to witness to our faith with young males, to mentor them in the connection between themselves and God, to illustrate for them a love of family, career, and one another. The church must facilitate partnerships between young, middle-aged and older men, and build a community of trust. It must support divorced men and men facing the various crises of modern life. Fathers, especially single male parents, need guidance in their efforts at parenting and support in their participation in the life of the church.

— Written in partnership with the Executive Board of Presbyterian Men, 2001.