The Mississippi Gulf Coast Youth for Christ is going strong after 20 years and its reach in public schools and in local communities continues to grow, organizers said at a banquet Tuesday night. Locally, the organization works in 19 schools and three youth detention centers in Jackson, Hancock and Harrison counties. Twelve of those schools are in Jackson County. In addition, the ministry is taking steps to open a teen center in Ocean Springs and would like to open one in the eastern part of the county. A similar facility in Gulfport is open to students on Saturday evenings, where students who might never go to church can skateboard, play pool, hang out with their friends and learn about Jesus Christ, Holt said.

In a county-wide event, more than 500 teens and adults gathered Oct. 20 to work on over 52 service projects. The event, called CityServe, was a collaborative effort put on by several local churches and organized by Brian Muchmore at Youth For Christ. Though the focus was on service projects, the added benefits were seeing young people give back to the community and, Muchmore said, developing an attitude of contribution as well as building bridges.

In 2002, a group of volunteer women, under the auspices of Central Minnesota Youth For Christ (CMYFC), got together to organize the local "Teen Parents" program to help teen mothers. They meet weekly throughout the school year at the Continuing Education Center (CEC) at the St. Francis Campus in Little Falls, Minnesota.

Michaela DeLong, 18, of Little Falls finished her coursework in March, and earned her high school diploma from the CEC on May 24th. Michela was a student at Little Falls Community High School until she was about seven months pregnant when she went to the CEC. She said, "It was just easier that way. I couldn't fit in the desks any longer."

Laura Dunlap (a social worker and coordinator at CEC) said, "This group has provided wonderful services to our students in a collaborative manner. It is incredible the amount of volunteer hours so many people are willing to dedicate to our students." Volunteers raise their own funds for the Morrison County program that includes prenatal and parenting skills classes for high school mothers, baby items needed for child care, a mentor program, and networking activities.

Students have the opportunity to sign up for different clubs. The clubs, which have ranged from cooking to taekwondo, were taught by teachers or members of the community. Several organizations have been involved in getting the program off the ground including Youth for Christ. Jeff Anderson, who is involved at Youth for Christ, was helping to teach students how to fish. He said the program provides young people with activities to do instead of possibly going home to an empty house.

A nonprofit Christian group broke ground Tuesday on a $3.9 million youth center in a vacant lot near the Missoula County Fairgrounds. Plans call for a 34,000 square foot facility, with office space for as many as nine nonprofits and a recreation area with a pair of classrooms, a gym, a teen center, a cafe, a computer lab and a sports arena. The building will also house a storage area for the nonprofits.

On Friday nights, Massey said he is planning to provide meals for the students coming to the Breakaway Center. Along with games, food and other activities, Massey said the major focus of the center will be mentoring and tutoring. He said he has several volunteers to help with these programs, although additional volunteers are always needed.