How does a youth pastor raise up a pack of high school males?

I am honestly asking this question with no sexist implications.  I am confused about why high school guys don’t like church or following Jesus.  In my experience, it has been easier to motivate females to explore their faith and put it into practice than it is for a guy.  Talking to a high school male about spiritual stuff is like basically talking to a wall…..And trying to motivate a high school guy to pursue righteousness is a tough-tough task.  Hence this is why I am contemplating the issue of youth ministry male mentorship.  There is a deep problem when youth group/church is the last place an upper class guy wants to go.

What type of males are we raising up in our youth group?

Why don’t guys generally like going to youth group?  Why do many of them disappear after their sophomore year?

Are we just raising up boys who know the Christian rules really well?

Are we raising up boys who are just “nice” and “polite”?

Are we really asking our guys to be barbaric (like David) for God?  Are we asking them to fight the good fight?

Honestly, what group of guys do you as the youth pastor attract and influence? The theater crowd?  the jocks?  skaters?  surfers?  Band? Intellectual?  The idealist?  The realist?  The cynical?  The fighters?

And is this crowd of guys actually being the Kingdom of God on their high school campus?  Do other non-believer guys really respect your youth group guys? Or are your guys viewed as the losers and being lazy?

It is my belief that the men of the church should be raising up the high school guys.  Guy students need to be around other guys so they can  learn life lessons from the older men in the church.  It is essential males are with males because men issue manifest themselves in different ways.  Plus, if there are gals involved more than likely the guys will be distracted.

The topics high school males need to internalize:

1)  Character (honesty, integrity, courage, and commitment)

2)  Lust/sex/masturbation/pornography (how to control the man’s sex drive)

3)  Money (how to manage and save money)

4)  Leadership (learn proven principles about leading  or influencing a group of people)

5)  Criticism (i.e. how to take and absorb criticism)

6)  Dating (i.e how to treat the ladies)

Bottom line:  I think youth group becomes a “safe” place where the good-pretty-non-confrontational-sensitive-tolerant-mommy boys go.

High school guys need to realize how essential it is to put on the armor of God and fight the good fight.  High school guys need to be tough spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically.  If high school guys have a humble-confidence in who they are in Christ, it is game over.

Youth ministry needs to be raising up guys who are willing to stand for righteous living!!!  We need more Davids, Nehemiahs, Josephs, and Pauls emerging out of our youth ministries.

Youth ministry and the church train high school guys on how to fight for Kingdom values as a man of God.

How can a youth ministry adopt this type of male mentorship?

*  Get as many great men around the high school guys

*  Do guy only type of events (camping, paintball, football, video games, guy movies)

*  Teach the book of Nehemiah

*  Read together:  The Mission, The Men, and Me

© 2009, Jeremy Zach. All rights reserved.