An Exciting Announcement

A Word from the CSB President

Wildflowers: Rising to Meet the Moment

By: Michael O’Hara

We are facing a dire situation! The future is diverging, and the Ministry of Christian Service Brigade must respond. That’s what a brigade does.

Recent insights compiled by Barna Research, a Christian research organization that provides data and insights on the trends affecting faith, culture and ministry today, highlight both encouraging and troubling trends. It is exciting to see a spiritual resurgence of younger Gen Z men (ages 18-24)! Young men are leading a shift back to traditional Christianity, often driven by a desire for purpose and stability amidst modern cultural confusion. Gen Z men are increasingly engaging with in-person, spiritual, and faith-based communities. This is extremely encouraging! Does this mean Christian Service Brigade can consider its mission accomplished? Hardly! It means “the laborers” are increasing, and it’s time to pour gas on the fire that God has lit!

However, Barna’s research also reveals troubling insights. While Gen Z men have the highest rate of spiritual re-engagement with the Christian faith, there is a problematic split. Data shows that the demographic most rapidly disengaging with Christianity is Gen Z women. Data shows that Gen Z women are experiencing a significant shift in faith, becoming the least likely among their peers to identify with a religion, attend church, or engage in spiritual disciplines. While generally open to spiritual concepts, 38% are religiously unaffiliated, with many leaving traditional church settings due to feelings of disengagement, lack of support, and mental health struggles.

As much as “two are better than one… but a threefold cord is not easily broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12) is quoted during Christian marriage ceremonies, we must recognize the implications of this research. Faith has shifted from one side of the coin to the other, but the mix-match of spiritually imbalanced marriages will continue. And, as Generation Alpha and Generation Beta are shaped by their older siblings and parents, we can rightly assume this will perpetually continue. There is power in the two, equally committed to the ways of our Lord, working in tandem to have the greatest impact for the Kingdom of God.

It is my honor to share that Christian Service Brigade has been diligently working to explore how we can meet the comprehensive discipleship needs of both sides of the coin for future generations. Honoring the effectiveness of CSB’s same-gender, intergenerational discipleship model (we should really recognize it as God’s model), this spring, we are launching the piloting phase of a separate and distinctly female programming called Wildflowers.

Christian Service Brigade founder, Joe Coughlin, was not interested in simply creating a boys’ fun club. “Uncle Joe’s” heartbeat was shaped by our Lord, to disciple the next generation.

Even as a young college student, he recognized the emphasis and effectiveness of same-gender discipleship. And, because Joe and a handful of his buddies from Wheaton College were in fact men, Christian Service Brigade started as a ministry to the boys of the next generation. I find it interesting that girls’ discipleship programming has been a part of the history of Christian Service Brigade, going all the way back to the first few years of its creation. In fact, had unity and collaboration prevailed, the ministry of Christian Service Brigade would have been known to encompass both boys and girls programming for the last 85+ years.

This is exciting news! And, a tremendous benefit to CSB partnering churches and prospective churches who have expressed lament that our ministry did not offer discipleship programming for both genders.

This is not a matter of replacing “he” with “she” in all of our material; this is a total creation from the ground up, developed by women, and for the girls who will become the women of the next generation.

A Word from the Heart
By: The Wildflowers Committee Chair, Heather Mattiuzzo

As the girliest of girls who grew up in a church-based girls’ discipleship program, I learned pretty quickly how to get my hands dirty.

I learned how to serve.

I learned how to lead.

I learned how to store God’s word in my heart.

I learned how to step outside my comfort zone

Some of my favorite memories growing up are from those years, laughing with friends, memorizing verses, working on projects, and giving back to communities in need. It shaped me in ways I did not fully understand at the time, but I see it now.

Christian Service Brigade has also been woven into my family’s life for decades. In 1974, my grandfather started taking my dad and uncle to Stockade every single week. He believed deeply in what Brigade was doing in the lives of boys. Before long, he began serving as a Ranger himself and was recently honored for 50 years of faithful service. That kind of faithfulness changes generations. I have seen it firsthand in my own family.

For 89 years, CSB has faithfully discipled boys for Christ. It has built courage, conviction, leadership, and a deep love for the Lord into generations of young men.

And now, as a mom to a young boy and a spunky six-and-a-half-year-old girl, I feel deeply that my daughter, and other girls like her, deserve that same intentional investment.  They need it, and our world needs it!  Girls today need places where they can grow strong in Scripture.  Where they can try new things.  Where they can learn practical skills and serve others.  Where they are reminded of who they are in Christ in a world that constantly tells them otherwise, and encouraged to become the young women God has uniquely designed them to be.

Wildflowers is not about copying the boys’ program. It is about beautifully complementing it. It takes what CSB has done so well for decades and thoughtfully shapes it for girls in a way that speaks to their hearts, their gifts, and their calling.

The name itself carries meaning. We chose the name Wildflowers after a girls’ discipleship program started at Camp Hemlock by a woman on our committee who faithfully served there for decades alongside her husband. The meaning and heart behind that name have remained with us.

Girls are uniquely different from boys. They are beautiful, created delicately in the Lord’s design, each one distinct and intentional. But like wildflowers, they are also resilient. They can grow strong in unexpected places. They can get their hands dirty. They can run, explore, build, and be bold and free.

The name Wildflowers captures both of those truths. Beauty and strength. Tenderness and courage. And that is what we want to cultivate in the next generation.

It also leans into something I believe is incredibly powerful. There is something special about women mentoring girls. About older women walking closely with the next generation, modeling faith, strength, humility, and what it looks like to love the Lord in everyday life. That kind of same-gender, intergenerational discipleship matters. Wildflowers is designed to create space for those relationships to grow naturally and with purpose.

It’s an honor to serve on the CSB Board and to lead the Wildflower Committee. The women serving alongside me on the Wildflowers Committee are passionate, prayerful, and deeply committed to building something that will truly matter.

And if I’m honest, this is personal. I cannot wait to watch my own daughter one day become a Wildflower; to see her grow into a confident, capable, joyful woman after God’s heart.

That’s why Wildflowers is so important “for such a time as this”. Because if something is shaping generations so powerfully for good, we don’t limit it. We prayerfully expand it!

What’s Next

By: CSB President, Michael O’Hara

Pray for the Wildflowers Initiative

We want you to rejoice with us, and pray for this new initiative in same-gender intergenerational discipleship. And, we hope you will spread the news, and/or take advantage of this new ministry resource for your own church.

Consider Bringing Wildflowers to Your Church

The Wildflower Committee will be connecting with current, former, and newly interested churches through the month of March to pilot the programming between Easter and Mothers’ Day. This is the perfect season for mothers and spiritual mothers to faithfully engage in the mandate of our saviour to mentor and disciple the girls in their lives and congregations. Afterall, spring is the best time for wildflowers to grow!

Join the Spring Pilot

The pilot phase of Wildflowers is limited to the same age/grade levels as Stockade (ages 8-12, grades 3-6), with already a dozen Module lesson plans to choose from, including easy-to-understand guides and instructions for women leaders. Coaching and support is ready and available from the women of the committee who developed the programming themselves.

Secure Priority for the Fall Launch

Churches who participate in this spring pilot will be given priority during the full launch this coming fall. Space may become limited, so please take a look at the linked information (list of modules/lessons HERE and FAQs HERE ) to learn more, complete the short interest form at the link below to let us know you are interested in speaking with one of our Wildflower representatives.