Men are Zephyrhills church's main mission

Standing waist deep in the Gulf of Mexico, Chuck Owens closed his eyes and waited to be baptized. It was Aug. 1, 2009, and Owens, a man who once vowed never to join a church, was becoming an official member of New Walk Church of Zephyrhills. "I was forced to go to my mother's church until I was 18 and after that, I swore I'd never go back," said Owens, 44.

"I thought to go to church you had to give up being manly. Then my wife and daughter told me about New Walk. My first thought when I walked in the door was, wow, this is not my mother's church."

Since opening in 2006, New Walk Church has made a targeted effort to get more men in the pews. The church, which records more than 800 people at its Sunday services, meets at the Zephyrhills YMCA and advertises with billboards picturing a tattooed man toting a Bible.

The temporary sanctuary is designed to make men feel comfortable. The walls are black. The lights are dimmed so no one is under a spotlight.

"Men won't see flowers or girly things at New Walk," said senior pastor Gary Baldus, 37. "Our women are a big part of the church, but they aren't the whole church. We want to represent that."

The church music is rock-concert loud and the sermons are straightforward.

"My messages are written to challenge men," Baldus said. "We want men to understand it's not sissy to go to church. Being a Christian, being a father to your children and a husband to your wife is really the manliest thing you can do."

Across denomination lines, churches face a glaring gender gap. The average adult attendance in U.S. churches is 61 percent women, 39 percent men, according to the 2003 U.S. Congregational Life Survey. More than 90 percent of American men believe in God, and five out of six call themselves Christians. But only two out of six attend church on a given Sunday, according to statistics cited in David Murrow's book Why Men Hate Going to Church.

"With New Walk, we knew we had to do something different," Baldus said. "Everything we do at the church, from our graphics to the message, we ask ourselves, What would a man think of this?"

Baldus, formerly a youth pastor at Cross Light Church in Tampa, started New Walk on assignment with the General Baptist denomination. General Baptist wanted Baldus to create a church that was inclusive rather than judgmental, real rather than rigid.

Owens, who has attended New Walk regularly since his baptism, describes the church as a place where guys can be guys.

"During services, you don't have to tone down being a man, sit quietly, listen and sing hymns," he said. "You can get fired up. Pastor Gary talks to us like a regular guy who just happens to be a pastor."

Baldus said men can't use football as an excuse not to get to church.

"We have three services, so you can work us in around the game, and I talk about football all the time," he said. "I'm a big fan and big USF fan. I don't shy away from competition. I talk smack all the time."

Zephyrhills resident Jerry Mason said he likes New Walk because it is a church where men can get involved. The church offers everything from men's groups to clay shooting and athletic teams, all of which are starting up new sessions for the fall.

"I used to tell people there was no reason to go the church and churches only want money," said Mason, 40. "New Walk isn't about that. New Walk made me want to go to church. I've done almost every men's group and I volunteer."

Jacob Hill, 21, is New Walk's worship pastor. Hill led the shooting group this summer and was surprised when nearly 20 men showed up each week.

"We'd get together, hang out and shoot for a couple hours, then meet for a 15 minute devotional," Hill said. "The thing is we'd all be so pumped up the 15 minutes would turn into a two-hour conversation about life and family. I think hanging out together just having fun makes it easier to share our lives with one another."

Baldus preaches acceptance and unconditional love of all people, regardless of sex, religion or lifestyle. The message spoke directly to Owens.

"I've learned that to love like Christ is to love unconditionally," Owens said. "My marriage is better than it ever was because I don't get mad about the little things anymore."

Baldus, who does baptisms every few months at a beach on Fort De Soto Park, finds it rewarding when men welcome Christ into their hearts.

"I've seen so many big tough guys broken down to tears and saved," Baldus said. "These are guys who thought the church would burn down when they first came in."