The Details

• Dates: Monday, July 31 through Thursday, August 3, 2023 / (4) consecutive weeknights
• Time: 6 to 8:30 pm each evening
• Location: Northwest Baptist Church, 3500 Trinity Church Rd., Concord, NC 28027
• Who: Strategic Families, Inc., led by Graham Clark (more information on me below)
• What: An active & engaging camp to learn about godly manhood
• Registration: Please complete the form below
• Price: $100
• *Why? Read below to hear our heart behind this effort.

* Please let me know if you’re interested but can’t swing this! We don’t want cost to be a barrier. This is our joy and we would love to serve you and your family.

Caution Statements:

• Your son will be tired at the end of the week.
• Your son will not be the same at the end of the week because he will be pushed to grow.
• Your son will be energized about becoming a godly man.

The “Why”

Since you’ve landed here, chances are you care about your son becoming a man. Not just a person or an adult. A man.

But not just any man. And certainly not a man as the world defines it. No, you want your son to become a godly man. A man of honor. A strong man. A man of integrity. A man of courage and of consequence. A man ready to sacrifice his own comfort and pleasure to protect and defend others. A man who knows how to treat a lady with respect and honor her for God’s glory. The world desperately needs such men. The lack of such men has been nothing short of devastating in our day.

Let’s be honest: this is a tall order and can’t happen in one week. It takes years to do well. But we can take small steps that over time can make a huge difference. Whether you’ve already thought deeply about this for your son, or it’s the first time you’ve considered it, we at Strategic Families want to help you take a critical step in that direction.

At our Young Man Boot Camp, summer 2023 in Charlotte, we will explore the idea of godly manhood in depth. We’ll take a look at examples from God’s Word — both examples to emulate and ones to avoid. But it’s not just about learning. Our young men need to do things. Get their hands dirty. Sweat. Lift heavy things. This is the training ground for your young men.

We call them “young men” for a reason. Clearly they are not fully-grown men. But they need to see themselves as men in training.

We want to help you make this a reality in your son’s life! Join us this summer for a week of challenge, coaching, encouragement and fun as we explore this critically important topic.

It’s important to note that we are unapologetically Christian in our worldview, which you would certainly have gleaned from the website or the podcast. We will teach your young men that the greatest example of manhood that was and ever could be was and is the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, in Whom alone is there salvation (John 14:6) by grace through faith. Caring for your son during this camp means telling him the truth, and there is no more amazing truth than that Jesus Christ, who is God, came to earth to save sinners from death and hell and bring us life abundant and life eternal. Jesus was perfectly sinless, living the life we couldn’t live. On the cross, He died the death we deserved because of our sin, fully satisfying the just wrath of God over our sin. He rose from the grave, proving that He is Who He said He is, and it is because He lives that we can have life. While there will not be any pressure for kids to accept this message, we will present these amazing truths to them, both because they are absolutely essential to everything we’re discussing with godly manhood and because we want them to find the joy, forgiveness, hope, peace and freedom that can come only through life in Jesus Christ!

Who is this Guy Preaching about Manhood?

Hey, my name is Graham Clark. My wife Katie and I founded Strategic Families, Inc. in 2022 as a way of encouraging and challenging families to be rooted in God’s Word, energized with Gospel-centered purpose and activated on mission for His kingdom. We have four children — a son, currently 13, and three daughters, ages 11, 9 and 6, and we live in Charlotte, NC. Four days a week, I’m a safety professional for a construction company. On Fridays, I work with Strategic Families.

At Strategic Families, we strongly believe that one of the most important needs for the (big C) Church of Jesus Christ today is godly men. This doesn’t start when boys turn 18 and suddenly, people start calling them “men.” It has to start when they’re young and coming of age. We must present a vision for manhood for them to strive, by God’s grace, to become. Dads and other men in the church must teach it, but just as importantly, must model it.

I’ve had the privilege of influencing young men in a variety of settings over the last 15 years — whether as a Sunday school teacher, youth sports coach or just in the life of my son and his friends. In the winter of 2020 and 2021, I hosted a basketball clinic for kids aged roughly 9-12 (mostly but not exclusively boys) and in 2021 and 2022 helped organize a program called Gateway on the Journey to Manhood for my son and 6 other boys & dads around the same age.

I am passionate about equipping boys and young men with the tools, teaching and skills necessary to step into godly manhood. If your son already has that in his Dad or another father figure, fantastic: I’d love to come alongside your efforts and learn from you as well. If your son doesn’t have this, I’d love to step in and help provide a vision.

Q&A / Fine Print for the Camp Experience

• Q: Can my son bring his phone? What if I need to get in touch with him? A: No. Phones aren’t allowed. If something important comes up, your son can use my phone. If you need to contact him, you can call or text me.
• Q: What if my son is not yet 9 or just turned 13? A: 9 to 12 is a rough age range. If your son is close to 9 or just past 12, it’s probably OK. But we can all agree, there’s a pretty difference between an 8-year-old and a 13-year-old. Trying to make this experience roughly equivalent for everyone.
• Q: Will it just be camp or is will there be other stuff for my son to do? A: (FYI, this is a totally planted question) There will be homework that I will expect the young men to do in between our meetings — reading a passage of Scripture and taking notes, doing something sacrificial and helpful for your family, taking on a new responsibility, etc. This isn’t just about men getting together to do “man stuff” (though all self-respecting men and young men love that). It’s also about being effective men — men of consequence & character who are a blessing to those around them.
• Q: My son has a food allergy — what snacks will be you be giving them? A: Don’t worry about allergies, as we won’t give them any food or snacks. Water is all they need. Have them eat dinner ahead of time. If they’re going to become men, they can go without a snack for 3 hours.
• Q: All this talk about man stuff makes me a little concerned about safety. I want to make sure my son won’t get hurt. How will this be managed? A: I do safety for a living (I’m literally a Certified Safety Professional, CSP), so you can rest assured that I will provide for their safety. It will be hot but they’ll have plenty of water and rest. That said, they will do hard things and probably many things they won’t want to do. That’s part of being a man, in my opinion. If you’re convinced your son would be miserable having to do hard things all week, frankly put, this probably isn’t the camp for your son. Taking a step into becoming a man isn’t about comfort, after all. Hopefully the term “boot camp” tipped you off to this!
• Q: Sounds great but I don’t know you and I’d like to stick around and check this thing out. A: Parents are welcome to stick around for the entire thing! Siblings can stick around too, but won’t be able to participate in the activities. If you’re a dad and would like to help out, give me a shout! I will have to check on the insurance for volunteers, but having extra hands for various activities would be awesome.
• Q: I love the godly man talk, but I’d like to know generally what you’ll be teaching. A: Fair enough — as a Dad of 4, I would want to know too! I am a committed evangelical Christian and I love the Word of God. You can check out our statement of faith on this site to see what we believe about the Christian faith — e.g., the inerrancy and sufficiency of Scripture, the deity of Jesus Christ, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit inside of every believer. Socially, I am very conservative and I believe God made both male and female, and that they are equal in value in His sight — but also that they are fundamentally different and have different roles. I believe men are called to be leaders and should step into this role with strength and honor and integrity, all while loving and respecting the women in our lives — and that we need a revival of men in our country to do just that! I highly value women and believe that they reflect the beauty and grace of God — and that men should be protectors, defenders and providers for the women in their lives. (FYI, I have three daughters myself!) I also believe that God created ONLY men and women (and that this can never be changed) and that marriage is ONLY ever the holy union of ONE man and ONE woman and that nothing else constitutes marriage in God’s eyes (nor ever has).
• Q: Sounds interesting but what will you actually be doing? A: Great question and still working out the details. But a few off the top of my head… burpees, push-ups, short runs, team exercises (see the making of a boy-human pyramid above), service, learning how to change a car tire, games like capture the flag, and then a modest amount of time listening to me preach from the Scriptures as we explore the lives of godly men — who (except for Jesus Christ, of course) were not perfect: David, Gideon, Joshua, John the Baptist, Paul, Timothy, etc.
• Q: This would be a lot easier if it were during the day. Why is it in the evening? A: I work at a construction company during the day, so unfortunately I can’t do it during the day. But I’m off at 4 pm, so evenings are really the only time that work for me.
• Q: What’s up with the shirt — do I have to get that? A: No, getting the shirt is not required. I just got excited about the idea of having a shirt that said, “Shew Thyself a Man” (see 1 Kings 2:2 — this is what David tells his son Solomon right before he dies). I think this will be a great conversation starter for your son about manhood!

Registration