Set Apart to Serve: Listening to our young men

Many cultural observers have noted that today’s young men seem to be talking more about Jesus, faith, vocation, manhood and sacrifice than those in previous generations. In The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), more young men are also talking about becoming pastors or other church workers.

As executive director of the LCMS Office of Pastoral Education, I am blessed to meet and speak with many of these young men. Sam Wilkins and Joshua Price are pre-seminary students at Concordia University Wisconsin. Maximus Fritsche is a pre-seminary student at Concordia University, Nebraska. Robert Finch graduated from Concordia University, St. Paul, this spring and will be a first-year seminarian at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW). Zachary Jacob, a young husband and father, left his job as a mechanical engineer and moved to CTSFW to begin his pastoral formation with summer Greek. Jacob Harding graduated from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, this spring and was installed as pastor of First Lutheran Church, Paola, Kan., on July 12.

Listen to what these young men are saying about the church, vocation, sacrifice and service.

We are seeing an increase in young men coming to church. Why is this?

Sam Wilkins

Sam: My generation has grown up in a world telling them that they can “be who they think they are.” We have been told we are “the masters of our own destiny.” But we have also been told that we are the root of all social problems and that we must be “less masculine.” That’s a tiring way to live, not to mention confusing. The church offers something greater because its message is clear. In the church, young men are told who we are, given an identity in Christ and shown what it means to be a man. Young men see the rest that Christ gives, as He says in Matthew 11, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” When the world confuses young men, Jesus Christ makes their paths straight.

Joshua: Amid a culture that opposes masculinity, even biblical masculinity, men are looking for a place that gives them a proper definition and allows — and even forces them — to demonstrate their masculinity. Young men are seeking a refuge that helps them to understand and live their identity as Christian men. Christ’s church is that place.

Joshua Price

Max: Simply put, we’re tired. Young men are thinking about a job, a wife and a family. They may also be in college or at grad school. Anxiety spikes. Worries increase. Fatigue rises day after day. They have two options: Give up or push forward. That’s where the church enters. God offers comfort when life gets hard, so young men are drawn to the church to find calm there. The calm Christ gives seems much more appealing than the short-lived pleasures of this world.

Robert: I have noticed with men of my generation that they are tired of living superficial, lazy and “cushy” lives. Men are tired of eating fast food every day, being stuck inside their rooms scrolling on social media, and wasting their time on video games. Men have been designed by the Triune God to protect, provide and procreate, yet the sinful tendencies of this generation have sought to reverse everything that God designed in men. However, I believe that young men are beginning to see the negative effects of their sinful tendencies. Men want something to do, something to believe in, an identity to be proud of. The church offers solutions. Most of all, the church offers the life-changing message of Jesus Christ’s love and forgiveness for a broken world — a message that men desperately need to hear.

Max Fritsche

Zachary: Men were made to glorify God, to work, to have a family, and to protect and defend the truth. Everything in modern culture spews nonsense regarding these things, telling men that they are not needed in society and that they should make themselves small and inconsequential. I believe men my age are returning to the church because they are fed up with being forced to live a lie. Men and women alike are searching for the truth, and thanks be to God, they can find it in His holy church.

Jacob: People our age are looking for something different. Everyone can feel that the world offers no answers, no real truth, nothing of real substance. But the church does. She offers real truth. She offers Christ, forgiveness and life. Our churches need to reflect that we are indeed different from the world. Our expression of the Gospel, the Sacraments and our liturgy need to express this fact.

Why are you pursuing the pastoral ministry when you know there may be suffering involved?

Robert Finch

Sam: I, as a pastor, will suffer so others may know our Lord better. Being a pastor has nothing to do with me; it will never be about me. One of my close mentors told me that the pastor is “just a tool.” St. Paul calls us to be ambassadors of Christ. We are to represent not ourselves but Christ in all things. If suffering means others will know our Lord, then bring it on.

Joshua: The Christian life is one of suffering. Christ told His disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Matt. 16:24). A pastor’s life is no different, but he has a unique opportunity to teach and shepherd those who are struggling, always pointing them to God, their Redeemer and Father. Being a pastor will be an enormous blessing.

Max: No one ever said that doing this holy work would be easy. When a firefighter rushes into a burning building, does he think about the consequences of running into the fire? Does he cower and quit his job because of what fire can do to a man? No. He rushes in because he hopes for a future for the people he seeks in that fire. When a pastor walks into a burning world of death and sin, he enters not with the worries that he will die for the faith or that he will be persecuted for Christ’s name’s sake. He enters because he hopes to bring the people out of the fire.

Zachary Jacob

Robert: When Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, He commanded them to leave all things behind and to take up their cross. Jesus promised that those who follow Him, especially those who stand in His stead and by His command to preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments, will encounter persecution, suffering and grief. Paul Gerhardt (1607–1676) wrote in his hymn, “If God Himself Be for Me” (Lutheran Service Book 724): “From me this is not hidden, Yet I am not afraid; I leave my cares, as bidden, To whom my vows were paid.” I know that the task of preaching will be difficult, but I will not be alone. For this reason, I spend every day “[leaving] my cares, as bidden” by meditating on God’s Word, calling upon the Triune God in every problem, and frequently receiving the gifts of Word and Sacrament He offers every Sunday. It is through these means that He nourishes and sustains His ministers and those who are pursuing this office.

Zachary: St. Paul writes, “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task” (1 Tim. 3:1). Each of us has a vocation given by God, and not one of us is promised more or less suffering than anyone else on account of said vocation. To be sure, pastors are tasked with many responsibilities in this life from which others are seemingly “free.” On the other hand, pastors also get to experience many rich blessings that come hand in hand with caring for Christ’s church. If we all were to pick a vocation based on what we thought would make life the easiest, we would truly miss out on so many blessings God has in store for us.

Jacob: I have seen firsthand that the world needs to hear the Gospel, and God has called men to do so, despite — and through — the suffering. If our trust is in Him, and it is His words we speak, suffering is only our gain in Christ.

Sam, Joshua, Max, Robert, Zachary and David are only a few of the young men who are talking this way. You have voices like these in your own home, congregation and Lutheran school. Talk to the boys and young men in your midst about considering the pastoral ministry. Find valuable resources at lcms.org/sas.

Posted July 31, 2026