Cyber-cafe Evangelism-- An Out-of-the-Box Ministry Idea

This is a post that I had put on MennoDiscuss a good while back. I realize that some readers here don't go to MD, so I wanted to throw this out here for discussion.

For the last year or so, I have been increasingly aware of a need in the
community where I live. I live in a county that has nothing to offer Junior High
School, High School, and College students in regards to extracurricular
activities. I mean other than normal sports during the seasons. They have
nowhere to go. No movie theaters, no gym, no places of any kind that provide any
entertainment for teens. The kids in my town hang out in a few places, and move
back and forth, as encouraged by the police patrols through the community. The
kids get told to break up their informal parking lot party and move on, and they
go to the other spot, where, eventually, they are told the same thing, and they
go back to the other.

Alcohol is a HUGE problem in my community. Underage kids get it from older
siblings, or parents who don't care, or don't pay attention. Drugs is an
increasingly scary situation. We have teens pulling mushrooms off cowpatties in
pastures, and brewing them into hallucinogenic teas. Recently, our local paper
published an article stating the teen pregnancy situation in our county. 60 out
of 1000 of teens ages 15-17 have become pregnant, as compared to the 40.1 out of
1000 average for the state. That is 49.6% more pregnancies than the state
average. The article further stated that in our county 30.6% of the babies born
were to mothers with less than 12 years of education, as compared to 23.5%
across the state.

Girls want to be Brittney Spears. Boys want to be Eminem, or whoever is the
bad boy of rap currently. Schools realize the problem, but are limited to
secular methods to deal with it. Our schools CIS program (Communities In
Schools), which is spearheading the public school abstinence program, recently
was awarded a 3-year, $82,000 abstinence grant to start an after-school program
that provides a safe "Teen Scene" for children ages 10-18 who are unsupervised
when they get home from school. While the main focus would be abstinence, the
students would also receive academic assistance, mentoring, exposure to the
arts, and teaching in the areas of team building, leadership, motivation,
socialization, and recreation. This program starts at 3:30 with tutoring and
homework help until 6:00, after which will follow a couple hours of recreational
sports and fun.

Sounds great, right. I am glad something is being done. But I have real
reservations regarding its effectiveness. A need like the one I have described
needs more than an after-school program. It needs a Christ-centered ministry to
bring God to these teens, and get to the "heart" of the problems.

We need a "Whit's End"!

Ok, maybe not that exactly. I have no idea how to build an Imagination
Station, or a Room of Discovery, and I am not sure I want to sell ice cream. But
I really feel like God has given me an idea of what could be, if I just followed
His direction in this. But where to start? Imagine, if you will, a Youth Center,
with a coffee/soda/snack counter, filtered wireless Internet access, couches,
chairs, tables, pool table, table tennis, a few unassuming video game machines,
a book-swap section, Christian music (read that how you wish), adult supervision
with volunteer Christian youth as mentors and assistants, maybe a place outside
for volleyball or basketball, a few picnic tables.

A partnership program with local churches, local law enforcement, and
parents that would prohibit the presence and use of alcohol, drugs, or sex. A
strict adherence to the rules as set by the Youth Center administration, with
accountability by the teens built-in to the rule system. An effective
communication system between the adult supervisors and parents that enables fast
and effective resolution of issues. A place kids would like and feel safe in. A
place parents would be thrilled to send their kids to. A place troubled teens
could turn to for help or advice, or more importantly, friendship and an
introduction to Jesus Christ.

This program I envision would be unapologetically Christ-centered, and
would likely be ignored by some. However, if the kids think that the volunteers
and administrators really care about them, they'll want to bring their friends.
Word would get around, and curious teens would swing into the parking lot to see
what's going on.

But how to start? I have no idea how to implement this vision. I know that
many of the features of this ministry would be difficult and/or complicated to
accomplish. Some of my ideas would even be considered "risque" by fellow church
members (like Christian music, or video games, or internet, or all of it, for
that matter). Ok, I have opened up and made myself vulnerable. Now you can
comment and tell me how crazy I am, and how I need to get some sleep. Or you
could offer ideas, encouragement, (money) , or whatever, to create a discussion
on this subject.