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Teens gape at church youth center
By MELANIE AVE
© St. Petersburg Times, LUTZ -- Jim Taylor stopped dead in his tracks just inside the door of Grace Family Church's new futuristic youth center Sunday night. He looked up at the two large-screen televisions blasting a video of the Christian rock group the Newsboys. Then he looked to his left at the 3-on-3 basketball court surrounded by netting. And then to his right, at the row of arcade games. "Oh my God," mouthed the 17-year-old, a student at Seminole Presbyterian High School. "I can't believe this." Taylor wasn't the only awestruck teen attending a sneak preview of the oneighty Youth Center Sunday, an innovative approach to attracting teenagers to church. There were about 250 just like him: teens in a daze. It could be called GameWorks for God for its similarities to the mega arcade that opened last year in Ybor City. The high-tech, 11,000-square-foot center features 26 video games, air hockey, pool tables, foosball and a 200-seat cafe. Located next door to the church's sanctuary at 5101 Van Dyke Road, the two-story center cost about $1-million and took three years to plan and build. From the ceilings hung life-size statues of a skateboarder, a surfer and a hang glider. Surfboards and guitars grew around three video game stations that featured glass-encased waterfalls on top. About 250 teenagers attended the informal opening after the church's Sunday night youth service. They had to be reminded to walk, not run, in an orderly fashion to the center next door. "This isn't what I expected at all," said Kaci Groh, a 16-year-old Gaither High School student. "I just expected it to be a big room. It's not something you'd expect a church to do." The center is a vision of pastor Craig Altman, who founded the non-denominational, charismatic church in 1994. The church has about 1,100 members. The youth center is modeled after a similar facility at the affiliated Church On The Move in Tulsa, Okla. Youth minister Dean Wild said Grace Family wanted to provide a safe environment where teens could gather. But ultimately, church leaders want them to hear the message of Jesus Christ and realize that living a good, clean life can be exciting. "We believe a lot of kids love God," he said. "But they don't want to go to church because it's not fun. This is like the candy to bring them in and let them know God loves them." The center will be staffed by adult church employees and volunteers. For now, it will be open before and after Sunday evening services. But the church is considering opening the center on Friday nights as a place for teens to go after football games. About 700 teens are expected to attend the 180 Youth Center's official grand opening at 6 p.m. Sunday. Wild said he hopes the center will double the church's youth ministry to about 500 students. Sixteen-year-old Jeremy McNally believes a lot more of his friends at Chamberlain High School will come to church now. "They're more into fun and games," he said. "When I bring them here, they'll know more about what it's like at church."
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From the Times |
