Taking from the Iron Works: Iron Sharpens Iron mission and applying it to young men, three local men have set out to minister to high school-aged males.

The first New School Men’s Meeting will be held March 21, from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m., at the Andalusia Farmer’s Market. Mark Perry of Iron Works said that Jarrod Craig, Jeff Sellers and Emmett Massey got together and talked about the possibility of doing something like Old School Men’s Meeting for the younger guys.

“Because of what we have done with the Old School, they looked to us to ask questions,” Perry said. “We have been doing Old School for close to 2.5 years. So, why reinvent the wheel? We knew that Iron Works needed to reach out to the younger men.”

Perry said with the trio’s hearts, it looked like the ministry would be a good match to come under the Iron Works’ umbrella.

“We are looking for guys who are coming from broken homes,” Perry said. “Maybe their mother and father are into drugs or in prison. Be we are also looking for young men who come from good families. They are in high school together and this is about them spending time together. That’s why we geared this toward that age.”

Perry said the ministry just wants to pour into the ninth through 12th grade young men.

“We want to pour into these high school guys like we do the men at Old School,” he said. “There will be men there who will help serve and cook and they will see those men serving. They will get to sit down and share a meal together with their peers in a non-threatening environment.”

The event is free, and former Auburn Linebacker Mayo Sowell will speak. Sowell also was on the Buffalo Bills’ NFL team.

The promotional flyer says, “Where else can you hang out with your buddies, eat a good meal and hear a guy talk about playing in the NFL? Nowhere, unless your mom is dating a former NFL guy, and she takes you with them on a date. So, the choice is yours…hang out with your mom (don’t get mad moms…we are just doing a little ribbing ) or come hang out with us. Did we mention it is free? So, you pick…Your moms or meat, taters and football.”