MALE STRONGHOLDS
Mission
Strongholds exists to encourage men to pursue Christlikeness through small groups focused on sexual stewardship and spiritual formation
Vision
Strongholds accomplishes its mission through authentic vulnerability, confession of sin, encouragement through prayer, and the restoration of a comprehensive worldview shaped by God’s Word.
Values
Authenticity
Vulnerability
Stewardship
Accountability
Confession
Why join a Male Strongholds?
“My first year at Wheaton, I was trying to fight back against my pornography addiction for the first time. Though on the outside I was ‘making progress,’ every setback filled me with more feelings of failure, shame, and worthlessness that drove me back to a sin I’d hardly admitted to myself, let alone to others. My heart was completely pursuing the wrong thing, convinced that I had to conquer this before God would accept me.”
“I hit a breaking point after seven years of giving into this sin every day, where God met me in those depths, put a new desire to seek Him in my heart, and put a group of brothers in my life to help me do that for the first time. In sharing my full story and meeting together every week, I got to experience the freedom from shame that came from confession that I’d heard people talk about in their testimonies but I never thought could happen for me, still ‘in progress.’ And day by day over the past year I’ve been brought from death in sin to life in Christ as I’ve seen God change my heart to be satisfied in Him - in prayer, reading the Bible, worship, and Christian fellowship - more than I could ever be in my sin with pornography.”
“Day by day over the past year I’ve been brought from death in sin to life in Christ as I’ve seen God change my heart to be satisfied in Him - in prayer, reading the Bible, worship, and Christian fellowship - more than I could ever be in my sin with pornography.”
Hundreds of students join Strongholds to pursue Christian Sexual Formation in community.
Meet the Male SH Team
-
Elijah Zderad
Male SH Director
elijah.zderad@my.wheaton.edu
-
Caleb Todd
Male SH Coordinator
caleb.todd@my.wheaton.edu
-
Eric Larson
Ministry Associate for Discipleship
eric.larson.01@wheaton.edu
FAQs
-
Groups are open to all male undergrad students!
-
No! Wherever you are, a Strongholds group is incredibly beneficial. Groups focus on building close, spiritual friendships and pursuing positive, Christ-like sexuality.
-
Strongholds are built on a foundation of trust, honesty, and confidentiality. In a typical group meeting, members share about their weeks, rejoicing in what went well and confessing what did not. There is a time of learning and discussion facilitated by the leaders to build each other up in the pursuit of holiness. Members share prayer requests and pray for each other. Groups also enjoy time together outside of official meetings, whether in eating meals, playing Spikeball, or getting ice cream at Sams.
-
Groups meet once a week for approximately 90 minutes.
Strongholds typically meet 7-8:30pm Monday through Friday. There are also additional meeting times if needed.
-
Nope! No homework here. We hope, however, that participants will develop close relationships with the members of their group and spend time together in community outside of scheduled times.
-