We arrived in Roi Et, Thailand to a wonderful group of young men from another World Race squad. They are Gap Year racers, meaning they are doing the Race straight after high school. On their squad of 40 people, they are the only five males. On my squad of 35 people, there are only seven males. That’s a problem.
My team of five women talked to them about being men of God. We then talked about men on the World Race and why there are so few of them. Neither of our squads are uncommon. The imbalance between women and men is not the exception to the rule. Sadly, it’s the standard.
Fortunately, I’ve had incredible Christian male role models. However, most of them never entered the mission field, or have any desire to do so. That’s a problem.
We asked the boys, “Why do you think there are so few guys pursuing the World Race compared to girls?” Their answers were unfortunate, but understandable.
– It’s not manly.
– It requires you to be vulnerable and sometimes soft. Men don’t like that idea.
– Men feel like they need to stay home and get to work and provide for the family and sometimes missions isn’t able to fulfill those requirements.
– Being bold in faith means being open with your feelings and emotions and men don’t know how to do that very well.
– Men often think missions is just holding orphans, playing with babies and all the mushy gushy stuff. They don’t want any part of that.
That’s a problem.
Let’s be the change. Let’s shift the stereotype. God didn’t call only women to make disciples of all nations. God didn’t call only women to leave houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property for His sake. God didn’t call only women to walk by faith.
Let’s make missions appealing to young men. Let’s change their perception of the American Dream and the corporate ladder. Instead, let’s guide them toward being Holy Spirit driven. Let’s welcome vulnerability, open communication and emotional intelligence.
Better yet, let’s teach Christian boys to be real Godly men. Regardless of whether they enter the mission field, men should lead by the WORD, not the WORLD. Let’s quit “demasculinizing” missions and assuming vulnerable means weak. It’s not fair and it’s certainly not holy.
