Churches Unite Youth Efforts

By Ed Simmons, Jr.

             The pastors and youth directors of the churches of Caroline have been called upon to unite for the sake of the youth.  "We face some problems that one church can't face by itself," said Rev. David Johnson of Calvary Baptist Church in Bowling Green. "I hope and pray we are going to find a way to work together for the community," he said.

             Congregations of Promise will meet next month to address problems facing the youth.  "We're asking all 60 Caroline churches to send an Action Team of  a youth representative and an adult representative to a Congregations of Promise meeting, June 2," said Darlene Keener, executive director of Caroline's Promise. The meeting at Calvary Baptist Church in Bowling Green will begin with breakfast at 8:30 and end at 10:30. "We'll set goals and decide what action to take," said Keener, who stated that county youth need the churches to unite their efforts.  "The recent wellness report completed in the county tells us that every other child born in Caroline is born to a single mother and Caroline has the highest rate of bed use at the regional juvenile detention center.  These two statistics alone show we must work together for our children.  We have a ripe mission field right here at home," she said.

             Strategizing for the coming year, Congregations of Promise met with area pastors April 28, at Concord Baptist Church.  Meeting with Keener were the pastors of five Caroline Baptist churches: Rev. Kevin James of Salem Baptist Church, Rev. Duane Fields, Sr. of Oxford Mount Zion, Rev. David Johnson of Calvary Baptist of Bowling Green, Rev. Kevin Moen of Bowling Green Baptist and Rev. David Upshaw of Concord. A new Caroline church--Faith Journey Ministries, Inc.--was represented by Rev. James Quickly.  Also present were Darnell Wright, youth director of St. James Baptist Church, and Taryn Barlow, youth director of Concord. At the meeting too was Jennifer Dockum, missions director for the Herman Baptist Association. The challenge facing Caroline's 60 churches, as Rev. Upshaw expressed it, is that "no one church or denomination can meet all the needs of the youth in our diverse community."   For the sake of the youth there needs to be a uniting "of denominations and across racial lines," he said.

             Keener said Congregations of Promise is the organization that can facilitate that union. Keener wants to continue and move beyond last year's successful events, like the Unity Fest, the Fifth Quarter Party, and the "Clean Freaks" program on sexual abstinence for youth; Keener wants to enable area churches in sharing opportunities for youth such as mentoring, safe places to gather and healthy events to attend. Congregations of Promise can also help individual churches as a resource, said Keener--sharing informational data about the county youth, helping churches make strong connections to the schools and letting churches know of programs churches can tap into.  Keener said a Congregations of Promise newsletter will begin to arrive monthly at all Caroline churches; an important purpose of this newsletter is letting churches know what other churches are doing and how to join in.

             An example of upcoming events that all Caroline youth can participate in is the Youth Revival at 6:30 May 2 and 3, at St. James Baptist Church.  Call 633-7183 for information.  Then on May 5, there will be the all-day "Saving Sound" event at Salem Baptist where there will be a Battle of the Bands playing Christian music, Christian hip-hop and a skateboarding exhibition.  633-5583. And at Second Mount Zion there will be a Youth Revival, May 18 through 23,  kicking off May 18 with a Basketball Tournament.