Bringing Young Life to Fort Scott topic of meeting tonight

With an eye toward getting more youngsters involved in church projects, the Christian Education Committee at First Presbyterian Church recently began exploring the possibility of bringing a Young Life program to Fort Scott.

A meeting with leaders of the nondenominational, nonprofit organization is scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight in Zimmerman Hall at the First Presbyterian Church, 308 S. Crawford St.

Organizers said the informational meeting is open to community members. Attendees will discuss the project and time will be set aside for questions. Pete Fritsch, a professional with Young Life, is expected to attend.

"We want to see if this is something the community is interested in doing," committee member and Children's Ministries Director at First Presbyterian Church Grace Hardwick said.

According to its website, www.younglife.org, Young Life is a Christian ministry that reaches out to middle school, high school and college-aged kids in all 50 states, as well as more than 70 countries around the world. Young Life offers youth a faithful, creative, energetic program that is successful and well-thought of throughout the U.S. and the world, a news release said.

The program's vision is, "Every adolescent will have the opportunity to meet Jesus Christ and follow Him," the release said.

"The vision is to make the opportunity available for all middle school and high school aged kids to commit their lives to Jesus," committee member Connie Banwart said.

Banwart said the committee is in the process of reorganizing the church's youth program.

Committee Chairwoman Beth Nuss said the program would be open to all youngsters, regardless of their faith.

"It's ecumenical; that's what we want to stress," she said. "We had been discussing ways to bring together our youth for an enjoyable experience where they come each week and participate with us."

The Young Life mission includes the statement that the organization will be "encouraging kids to live connected to the Body of Christ by being an active member of a local organization." They provide both local experiences and special events, as well as an array of camps and conferences, the release said.

"The camps are well counseled," Banwart said. "People are screened before they counsel ... Kids say it's a great program ... We're hopeful this might be a wonderful thing Fort Scott could do in an ecumenical way."

Banwart added the program is "like a community youth group." Meetings are announced via Facebook or texting. They meet at various different places to sing, discuss a short message and sometimes play competitive games like dodge ball. Then, they usually go eat together and socialize, Banwart said.

At the informational meeting, leaders of the organization will share with attendees how Christians can better provide life-affirming experiences for local youth and strengthen the whole community, the release said.

For more information, contact First Presbyterian Church at (620) 223-3180.