Who was your favorite Sunday school teacher as a child? Were they a Mrs. or a Mr.? According to George Barna, “Women are almost twice as likely as men,” to be involved in children’s ministry. No one can pinpoint one specific reason why this is the case but at CEF Chicago we know that men should be a vital part of children’s ministry. In fact, we have seen God do amazing things through our male mentorship program.
“Throughout Chicago, so many children need Godly male influences. Each Year I have watched as only a small percentage of the young men who attend Christian Youth In Action return. And though I am so proud of the men who come back year after year I wanted to encourage more of the young men to continue to serve so I took a page out of my dad’s playbook, and began something, he called man school, for the young men of CYIA® So far this has taken the form of weekends where we get together to do different activities from fun hangout time to demolishing an apartment to get it ready for some much-needed remodeling. These weekends have given us a chance to take a look at what it looks like to be a man of God in whatever circumstances come our way. I am encouraged as almost every young man that came to CYIA® last year as well as several of their friends, have already signed up for CYIA® this year. Currently, we have more guys than girls signed up.” – Zebediah Potter
We praise God for the mentorship these teenage men receive from Zebediah and all of the other men on our staff! Will you pray they will use what they are learning to become the Godly mentors and disciple-makers they are meant to be?
