Saving The Lost Boys Of The West

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Charlie passionately wanted to reach and save the lost boys of the West…

Last weekend many in the United States (and around the world) remembered, mourned, and celebrated the life of Charlie Kirk. Probably the most significant part of the memorial came from Charlie’s widow, Erika Kirk, towards the end. I highly recommend my readers take the time to read or watch her speech in its entirety. For me, the key part Erika’s speech came when she summarized Charlie’s main mission as reaching and saving “the lost boys of the West,” as one of these “lost boys” took Charlie’s life. Moreover, one of these “lost boys” also shot at ICE agents in Dallas and ended up killing a detainee (and himself). Clearly, a generation of young men feel adrift in a secularized, sexualized, and fragmented culture that offers only confusion and hopelessness.

Here, I want to explore what it means to save these “lost boys” and why Erika’s speech points us to a hopeful path forward.

Erika on Charlie’s Mission

Many critics of the memorial service saw it merely as tool of conservative propaganda. Sure, many speakers did speak of politics, as many speakers are politicians. However, Erika’s eulogy reflected a very personal faith she and Charlie both shared. On Charlie main mission, Erika stated:

Charlie passionately wanted to reach and save the lost boys of the West. The young men who feel like they have no direction, no purpose, no faith and no reason to live. The men waste their lives on distractions, and the men consumed with resentment, anger, and hate. Charlie wanted to help them… when he went onto campus, he looked to show them a better path and a better life that right there for the taking. He wanted to show them that.

She went on to identify the young man who killed her husband:

My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life. That young man. That young man on the cross, our Savior said, “Father, forgive them for they not know what they do.” That man, that young man, I forgive him. I forgive him, because it was what Christ did, and reflects what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love, and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.

She concluded with a call to continue Charlie’s mission to change young men and thereby change the world:

People who saw him said that he didn’t know what he was doing, but he did. He did know what he was doing. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was going to change the world, and he did. Charlie’s life was a turning point for this country. It was a miracle. Let that miracle that Charlie’s life be your turning point as well. Choose prayer, choose courage, choose beauty, choose adventure, choose family. Choose a life of faith. Most importantly, choose Christ.

Amen. Let us all endeavor to continue Charlie’s mission.

The Crisis of the Lost Boys

As Erika stated above, young men in the West desperately need help. Many young men grow up in broken homes without strong fathers. Many suffer an epidemic of loneliness; in-person interactions dropped 70% between 2003 and 2020. Richard Reeves in Of Boys and Men describes a “crisis of purpose” among young men, causing them to fall behind in education, employment, and mental health. Sadly, according to the CDC’s Suicide Data and Statistics (2022), suicide now ranks as the second leading cause of death for ages 1–44, and rates continue to rise. Drug use, specifically fentanyl, exists at a higher rate among young men, which in turn leads to more death due to overdose (2.6 the rate for women).

No wonder Charlie had such a burden for these lost young men. He understood that secular culture offers nothing but distraction, not direction, for these “lost boys.” Charlie identified that the real crisis impacting “lost boys” is a spiritual one: a crisis of identity, purpose, and faith. He recognized that “lost boys” need Jesus.

Signs of Hope

Evidence of Charlie’s life and death already bears fruit. According to Amira Abuzeid at the National Catholic Register, people who consider themselves not ordinary churchgoers have decided to go to church in what she and other call “the Charlie Kirk effect.” Furthermore, some schools with Newman Ministries (which operate in around 250 campuses) report Mass attendance increasing by 15%. Other reports from Protestants report “overflowing” churches the Sunday after Charlie’s death.

Clearly, such a response reflects the spiritual far more than they do the political. In response to tragedy, people are turning back to God. As an aside, we did not see such a response from the death of George Floyd in 2020. In fact, we saw quite the opposite. An adage of the early Church went: the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. The response to Charlie’s death appears to prove this adage true.

How do we Continue Charlie’s Mission to Save the Lost Boys?

Our task is to keep Charlie’s mission alive: bring the “lost boys” home to Christ by giving them hope, direction, and something greater to live for. We also need to pray for these young men. As fathers, we must invest in our sons with faith, guidance and love. As men of faith, we need to get involved in faith formation. Here, faithful men can provide much needed mentorship to the young men in their community by showing them examples of sacrifice, service, and responsibility. Our churches must not neglect young men and embrace a mission to reach them as vital to evangelization.

We must offer young men an alternative to the despair offered by secular culture. Saving the “lost boys of the West” must be the central mission of our time.

Final Thoughts

Charlie wanted to help them… when he went onto campus, he looked to show them a better path and a better life that right there for the taking. He wanted to show them that.

Charlie died reaching out to “the lost boys of the West,” including the one who took his life. In her speech, Erika Kirk did not call for vengeance but for forgiveness, love, and action. She now continues Charlie’s mission to these “lost boys,” as the future of the West depends on whether we heed this call—to rescue and save the lost.

Charlie’s mission is now her mission. Her mission now is our mission.