Searching for Tom Sawyer: How Parents and Congregations Can Stop the Exodus of Boys from Church

The Story of Boys—Lost in the Twenty-first Century:

• 70% of all Ds and Fs go to boys
• 85% of stimulant-addressing medications prescribed in the world are prescribed to US boys
• Boys are falling behind girls in virtually every area of life
• 70 -90% of boys will leave the church in their teens and early twenties

Searching for Tom Sawyer offers parents and church leaders a compelling vision and practical principles for how, together, they can change that storyline by forging boys into heroic men.

“More than 70% of the young men who are raised in church abandon it during their teens and twenties … Tim Wright examines the problem and offers real solutions to one of the greatest challenges facing the church today.”

—David Murrow, author of Why Men Hate Going to Church

“No one who cares for boys, and equally no one who cares for kids and families should miss Searching for Tom Sawyer.”

—Leonard Sweet, professor at Drew University and George Fox University

“Tim Wright’s diagnosis of why most of our congregations struggle to connect with guys is eye-opening and stunning … As the father of three boys, I wish I’d had this book years ago. As the pastor of a congregation, I’m glad I have it now.”

—Pastor Jeff Marian, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Burnsville, Minnesota