ManMade €“ SJIs fab new resource to help young men discover God

A new resource has been released by Share Jesus International to help young men realise that God is also for them.

ManMade features contributions from popular Christian male figures, including Matt Summerfield, Executive Director of Urban Saints, Andy Croft, Associate Director of Soul Survivor, and Gavin Calver, head of Youth for Christ.

The resource has been put together by SJI and Darren Quinnell, an Associate Youth Evangelist with the organisation, as the number of men in the church continues to fall.

SJI said it wanted to respond to a question put to it by a group of young men recently – “Why should we bother with God?”

They hope ManMade will answer that question as well as challenge the notion that gang culture, sexual promiscuity and drug abuse are the only coming of age experiences for young men today.

“There are so many of these bad news stories when it comes to teenage guys becoming young men,” said Andy Frost, Director of Share Jesus International.

“We wanted to help create more good news stories as young men encounter God.”

At the heart of ManMade is a desire to help local churches offer positive ‘Rites of Passage’ experiences for young men and specifically teenage guys in their midst as well as those beyond their walls.

The resource points them to Jesus as the ultimate role model and some of the values at the heart of Christianity – passion, humility, courage, respect, control and responsibility.

ManMade suggests activities, suitable for indoors and out, that churches can run to help young men experience these values.

The action-orientated course builds up towards a final weekend away together to give the guys a different kind of “Rites of Passage” experience SJI hopes they will remember as a significant milestone on their journey to adulthood. Upon completion of the course, they are each given a dog tag as a memento of their time.

SJI said the resource would fill a gap in the market, which already provides such experiences for young girls.

Matt Summerfield writes in the foreward to a section on passion: “Let’s inspire our young men to dare to be different and not play it safe. To be willing to stand out in the world, empowered by the Spirit and partnering with God in His Kingdom activity to rescue this world from all of its brokenness.”

ManMade includes activities, an outline for a Rites of Passage weekend, a DVD with source material and worksheets, and dogtags. It is out now priced £20.

On the web: www.ManMadejourney.com