I have been working at The Mission Society since December 2006. At the time of this writing, I have participated in five missionary candidate events and three intern trainings, and I’ve noticed a trend.

Of the 47 missionary candidates from these five candidate events, what percentage do you think were men?
a. 15% 
b. 25% 
c. 40%
d. 50% 
e. 60%

Of the 37 participants who attended the past three intern trainings, how many do you think were men?
a. 15%
b. 25% 
c. 40%
d. 50% 
e. 60%

If you guessed c for the first question, and b for the second question, you are correct. Put another way, two out of five candidate-event attendees were men, while one of the four intern-training attendees was a man. Statistics like these call to mind the reading I did for a Perspectives (missions) class. In the “Women in Mission” chapter of the Perspectives Reader (4th ed.), Marguerite Kraft and Meg Crossman write: “Overall, probably two-thirds of the missions force has been, and currently is, female” (p. 296). Although the article is a few years old, I would imagine that the stats are very similar today. In fact, my experience leads me to believe the disparity is even greater if one considers only the United States. For example, I was a part of Oral Roberts University Missions from 1998-2003. During this time period, the average short-term missions team had three males for every seven females (just 30% men). Still another example comes from my involvement with the missions department at my former church. The average number of men on these short-term trips was 1½ men for every 10 women (just 15% men). I suspect you could provide some of your own examples.

I don’t want to note the low percentage of males without also noting the high percentage of females in missions. We should rejoice about the many women who have responded to God’s call and are putting their faith into action! But why are there so many more women than men involved in missions? Are we less committed to the Great Commission? Are we too focused on laying a firm financial foundation for our families? Are sports and hobbies distracting us? Are we seeking to prove ourselves professionally before we start into missions?

I’m sure there is no simple explanation; many factors are at play here. What can be said is that, generally, we men seem to be well, slacking, when it comes to missions.

So I ask: Brothers, where art y’all? Might I encourage you to get engaged in God’s mission? The Lord’s army has a place for you.

Richard Coleman is The Mission Society’s director of mobilization and candidacy.