On January 21, 2007, God woke me up out of bed and said, “Wake up. You're going to church.” My life has never been the same. I soon realized Jesus is real, and I could no longer live as I had been.

Ever since, I’ve been on a journey following Jesus, healing the pain of my soul, and learning what it means to be a man of integrity—a leader God can trust to make a difference in the world. My formal education, decades of self-education, and over a decade and a half of working with men and leaders have shown me the good, the bad, and the ugly of life and leadership.

Fast forward to today and the cultural chaos we find ourselves in, and it's easy to see many men are struggling. Mental illness. Lagging in education and career metrics. Higher rates of addiction and suicide than ever. Hell, we can’t even define man and woman these days. Insanity.

It seems the answer is: be this Top G, baller, aggressive alpha toxic male—or become this progressive, passive beta male sipping his matcha latte reading third-wave feminist theory. But neither is the true vision of manhood. One hides his wounds. The other becomes them. What if there’s another way?

Moreover, the men who aren’t struggling have a hard time connecting with other solid men, committing to real friendship, and finding a place to be real—to take off the mask of performance and help out the guys behind them who need to learn how to live in strength and wholeness.

If men are ever going to become men who walk in strength and surrender—who have a spine and a soul—they need role models, equipping, and the company of other men who know the way, are going the way, and will show the way.

This is what Risen Men exists for.

I’ve had it in my heart to do this for years. Why now? Let me close with a personal story.

In the summer of 2024, we lost one of my best friends, David.

He was awesome. Hardworking. Give-you-the-shirt-off-his-back kind of guy. Could tell a joke with the best of them. New to faith—I got to baptize him. After losing his 8-year-old son to epilepsy a few years prior, he started struggling with substance abuse. He would work to run from the pain of the loss until life caught up, and then he would turn to substances. Eventually, it took him out. (I’ll leave the details out of respect for his loved ones.)

While he was plugged into community, he was doing great. When he wasn’t, he struggled more and more—until the shame and the vices took him out. I just wish I had built this years ago so David could have had the support he needed when the shame wouldn’t let him keep showing up at church.

Why am I building Risen Men?

For the Davids who are struggling.

For the young men who don’t know what it means to be a man.

For the leaders who are tired of always showing up strong for others but just need a place to be themselves and be poured into.

For every man who wants to be a better man but doesn’t know where to go to do that.

For the man who is tired of the emptiness of Tinder, porn, and using substances to self-medicate and wants to be proud of the man he sees in the mirror.

For the leader who wants to get better for his team and knows his mission deserves a better version of himself.

For the husband and father who wants to be faithful to love and lead his family well.

I’m building this for me—because I’ve been all those men and struggled to find a place that could help me.

I’m building this for my son Jonathan, so he grows up in a world where I’ve helped a thousand men become the men they are called to be.

I’m building Risen Men to champion the strength and dignity of modern men.

To create a community of coaching, encouragement, and accountability to help men level up in life and leadership—to become men of self-respect, strength, and service.

If that’s you, this is for you.

I hope you take the step of faith to join the community of men who refuse to settle.

With love and respect,

Joshua Delp