Pastor reaches out to youth

By EMMILY N. BRISTOL

VIEW STAFF WRITER

Pastor Shaun Mahoney knows how to reach the new generation.

The Green Valley Christian Center pastor leads the Church for Youth each week, and teen-agers are definitely listening.

Each Thursday at 7 p.m., approximately 150 to 200 teens converge at the center. Once there, the kids participate in activities such as singing and dancing. Mahoney said the youth program is designed to be more relevant and exciting for teens, as evidenced by the lighted stage and fog machine at the facility.

"We do whatever we can to meet the teen-agers where they're at," Mahoney said.

Three years ago the pastor moved to Henderson from New Zealand and joined the church.

When he started the youth ministry at Green Valley, only 10 teens would show up for the weekly ministry. Mahoney said he knew kids liked the atmosphere presented on MTV.

"We don't need to compete," the 29-year old pastor said.

So he decided to create a youth ministry rooted in contemporary themes. Mahoney said the idea is to present religious ideas in a popular and "edgy" way.

Mahoney's strategy works; not only has the youth ministry grown by leaps and bounds, but the pastor is also discovering teens are coming to the church who aren't even members.

"Only about 15 percent of the teens on Thursday night are members of our church," Mahoney said.

And the kids aren't just showing up on Thursday night.

In August the church opened a new youth center complete with video games, television, pool table and a cafeteria. The center was built after the teen group raised $15,000 over the past two years. The center is open about three days a week, and Mahoney said some kids ask to get dropped off at the center after school to hang out.

"We are here to help the kids in Green Valley," he said.

The teens also raised money to participate in this year's missionary trip.

Mahoney tries to lead the youth ministry on trips to other countries each year. In July and August, the group went to Jamaica and helped build a teen challenge center, which is a place that helps people with drug- and alcohol-related problems.

Every five or six weeks, the youth church hosts "Reality Explosion." This outreach project is a fun alternative for teen-agers on Friday nights. At the last Reality Explosion on Nov. 3, there were air bounce machines and a human sling-shot machine.

On the Reality X Web site, www.realityx.org, teens can download Christian music, find out about upcoming events and see pictures from previous Reality Explosion nights.

Many of the church's activities relate to the youth ministry. Church member Kelly English said the youth group makes up an integral part of the church's identity.

"It is our youth ministry that shows what we're really about," English said. The young church members are involved in various programs at the church, such as the Christmas program coming up in December.

Green Valley Christian Center is located at 711 Valle Verde Court. Anyone wanting more information about its programs or youth ministry can call 454-2722.