Each May, our congregation confirms about a dozen 14 year-olds. Last year,
I invited the boys to attend a Sunday night gathering called "The Young Man in
the Mirror" and we used Pat's book as our resource study guide. I had 8 guys
faithfully attend for 15 weeks. Each week we gathered at 6:00 p.m. and started
with food - pizza, Chinese, burritos, chips, and/or soft drinks. We would talk about what was happening in their lives that past week - school, social, etc. After about
a half-hour we would get to the chapter of The Young Man in the Mirror that was
the topic of the week.

This took us through the second week of January with time off for Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year's. I involved the fathers of these guys at the very beginning with a letter explaining what I was planning on doing and inviting them to purchase The Young Man in the Mirror for their son and to follow up each week's session with discussions about what we talked about. I'm not sure how much discussion took place (I plan on being more deliberate in talking with the fathers on a regular basis to make sure this happens).

At then end of the 15 sessions, I planned a dinner for the guys and their dads. That Sunday morning, I had the guys come forward in the late worship service and as they stood before the altar, I had the fathers stand behind them. I presented them with a hat I had made that said "The Young Man in the Mirror, St. John's Lutheran Church, 2003." I also presented them with a framed certificate that was based on the one Pat included in the back of the book. The dinner was held after church. I grilled steaks and potatoes. The weather that day was interesting, it was about 15 degrees and snowing. After dinner, we all watched the movie Field of Dreams.

This has impacted our congregation in ways I had hoped for and in ways that went beyond my dearest hopes. Following this "class" I had one of the dads be a part of another group that met on Sunday evenings called "Wild at Heart: A Band of Brothers." Our men's ministry is strengthening, the guys who went through "The Young Man in the Mirror" continue to be actively involved in the congregation, worshiping regularly and serving as ushers and lectors.

This fall, I'm once again inviting the guys who have been confirmed this past spring to be a part of "The Young Man in the Mirror" and I'm also inviting back the guys who went through it last year. I'll once again invite the fathers to purchase the book for their sons. I'm also going to include in one of the sessions a discussion of Kenny Luck and Steve Arterburn's book "Every Young Man's Battle" - I have the DVD produced by them. I'll be inviting the fathers to attend another session of Wild at Heart: A Band of Brothers and my wife will be hosting "The Young Lady in the Mirror" for the girls who have been confirmed this past spring.

I firmly believe that our congregation will be greatly blessed by God as we do everything we can to strengthen this new generation in the church. I cannot sit idly by and watch another generation get lost. I'm doing what I can - through the power of the Holy Spirit - to reach them for Christ.

Your's in Christ,
Ed Blonski
Romans 1:16-17