Summertime has officially arrived here in Colorado, and we are enjoying every moment of it! I hope that you and your loved ones are able to take a few extra days off for some relaxation and a much needed time of refreshment for all. In the midst of this great season of leisure, exciting new developments continue at On Target Ministries, and I am thrilled to be able to share this month's report with you.

We kicked off last month with our annual golf tournament and fund raiser. The event was without a doubt our best one yet. Forty five golfers partnered with us and enjoyed a fun filled day on Woodmoor Pines' golf course. We closed by hosting a special luncheon for our players and handed out some fun prizes for their achievements. We are so thankful for each participant and sponsor…you are the reason for our success! May the Lord bless you for your generosity and support!

Our second event was a speaking engagement in New Orleans at "The Million Dollar Round Table". I was invited to conduct a prayer breakfast for two hundred men and women in the insurance industry. These individuals were million dollar producers, and were there to attend an even larger meeting with over 10,000 of their peers. We had an awesome time together, and twenty were ushered into the Kingdom! We were encouraged to hear several positive reports on our work there, and look forward to the possibility of being invited back to speak to their main platform some time in the future.

Back on the home front, we also gathered together this past month for a Board Meeting. The purpose of this gathering was to present our new Case Statement for On Target Institute to the members of our board for their approval. The response was unanimous and the board is extremely excited and supportive of the direction we are heading.

Along with the introduction of our Case Statement, we also had the privilege of introducing two new board members. We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Teddi Domann to our Board of Directors. Over the course of this past year, Teddi has donated a $10,000 research project to On Target Ministries on the status of ministry to men in America. She is an incredibly talented and resourceful lady. Our second newcomer is Ed Bissonette, head of development at Colorado Christian University in Denver, CO. Ed has been a dear friend for many years now, and is an expert in the area of fund raising. We are so thrilled to have Teddi and Ed on our team and look forward to how the Lord is going to use our partnership in the days ahead!

Here in the office, Brad Fallentine, our new President of On Target Institute, is solidly in place and continues to put the finishing touches on the Case Statement that I referred to above. He will also be overseeing the production of a brief video that will help raise the necessary funds for this project. We will keep you posted on this development and make every effort to send you more information in the days ahead. Cindy and I are so enjoying Brad's presence in our office and embrace him as the newest member of our ministry family!

Finally, we are still working on a possible meeting with the First Lady or a member of her staff regarding the Presidential Proclamation that was handed to our President some time ago. First Lady, Laura Bush has announced her desire to focus on the development of young boys. Our desire is to "lock arms" with her and help bring this about via the men's ministry movement. Please pray for God's will as we continue to wait on Him for further direction.

Before closing, did you know that On Target Ministries is getting a makeover?!? Our ministry office has been located in the unfinished basement area of our home in Monument, CO for approximately ten years. In lieu of the ministry's recent growth, Cindy and I began to conduct some research on how much it would cost to finish our office space and make it more user friendly for our staff. We are pleased to report…with the help of a few dear friends in the building industry and several generous donations from ministry supporters…our dream has been made possible! The major structural changes have already taken place and new drywall is expected to arrive soon. We would like to send out a special thank you to all who generously donated (and continue to donate) their time, effort and funds towards the fulfillment of this project! Excitement is mounting as we anticipate the finished product!

It has been an awesome month indeed! Thank you partner for your loyalty and ongoing interest in what God is doing. We pray that you will continue to bless us with your support during this summer season. Along with new developments come new needs and funds are not as plentiful during the summer months. Your investment is more than appreciated…it is eternal! We love you so much and pray that the Lord will give you and your loved ones a summer to remember!

Anticipating His best,

Vince D’Acchioli
Founder

Target Point

In spiritual matters, kids take their cues from Dad
by David Murrow

You've heard it said that fathers are the spiritual leaders of the home. Now there's a study to prove it.

Researchers from Switzerland examined whether parents' religious habits were transmitted to their offspring. They studied different variables, but one critical factor towered above the rest: the practices of the father determine whether children grow up attending church or not. And here's the shocker: the habits of the mother have almost no influence over their kids' future devotion.

Consider these findings:

• When Mom is a regular churchgoer but Dad attends infrequently, just 3 percent of their kids go on to become regular churchgoers.
• When Mom is regular but Dad never attends, just 2 percent become regular attenders.

Now, let's flip the chart. What if Dad is faithful?

• When both Mom and Dad attend church regularly, 33 percent of kids grow up to attend regularly.
• When Dad is regular but Mom only goes once in a while, the figure jumps to 38 percent.
• Here's the real bombshell: when Dad is faithful but Mom never attends, 44 percent of the kids end up as regular church attenders!

Bottom line: in spiritual matters, kids take their cues from Dad. If Papa doesn't go to church, chances are very slim that his children will become regular worshippers. If the kids see religion as "Mom's thing" they are more likely to become disenchanted. But if Dad leads by example, children are twenty-two times more likely to become lifelong churchgoers.

This trend is present in U.S. churches as well. Curtis Burnam, a 20-year veteran of youth ministry has seen it time and again. "Kids who are taken to church by Mom but not Dad are harder to keep in church. They tend to drop out at higher rates when they reach adolescence. They are also harder to engage when they do come to youth group. This is true for girls as well as boys."

Why are these findings so alarming? Because men are dropping out of America's churches. Consider this:

• In 1952, the typical U.S. protestant worship service drew an adult crowd that was 47 percent male. Today that figure is 39 percent -- and falling.
• On any given Sunday there are 13 million fewer men than women in U.S. pews.
• Almost a quarter of married, churchgoing women attend services without their husbands each Sunday.
• According to Barna Research, men lag behind women in every area of Christian endeavor (except the senior pastorate).
• Few churches can establish or maintain a viable men's ministry.
• The majority of churchgoing men do nothing midweek (other than pray) to grow in faith.

Two obvious questions come to mind: why are Christian churches losing their men? And why are churchgoing men so uninvolved? Jesus enthralled men. Rival faiths such as Islam inspire fanatical allegiance from young men. What's the difference?

I studied this phenomenon for five years, and wrote my findings in a book titled, Why Men Hate Going to Church (Nelson Books, 2005). If I had to summarize my conclusions in one sentence it would be this: The modern church system is not designed to do what Jesus did: reach men with the Good News.

No, today's churches, without even realizing it, create an environment where women and tots thrive, but men feel hesitant and restrained. How so? Without even realizing it, modern churches default to a feminine spirituality. For instance, we focus almost exclusively on Christ's gentle side. A good Christian is always soft, sweet, and sentimental, focused on family and relationships instead of goals and achievement. Common church practices such as handholding, sitting in a circle and sharing your feelings, public reading and singing make men feel uncomfortable or incompetent. Today's praise songs present Christ as lover rather than leader. I could go on.

So men depart (or go passive). This in itself is a tragedy. But the greater loss comes years later, when the next generation turns its back on church, despite their mothers' superhuman attempts to grow them into spiritual champions.

It's time to face the truth: if we're going to pass a lifelong faith to our children, we must re-engage men. No amount of Sunday school, VBS, or youth group will do the trick. We might as well fold up our flannelgraphs and go home. In fact, we might reach more kids by canceling the entire children's ministry and focusing our efforts on men. This strategy would, in the long run, produce more lifelong followers of Jesus.

Kids need one thing: to see their fathers following Jesus. The question is: do we have the courage to transform the local church into a place where your average guy can connect with God?