The air smells of disinfectant and high fat foods -- pizza, hot dogs and nachos. The sound of bowling balls traveling down lanes, rolling in gutters and smashing against pins is the background noise. However, the main sound that emanates the air is the sound of approximately seven teenage girls singing with Miley Cyrus, “Got my hands up, they’re playing my song and now I am going to be okay. Yeah, it’s a party in the USA”. If only they would sing this loud during worship service.

This is a peek at one of the Southside Church of Christ Youth Group’s many events. On this particular day, they are bowling with youth in Tacoma, Washington in an effort to have the young people from different congregations’ fellowship. There are approximately 25 teens dominating four lanes at Tower Lanes, all dressed in colorful clothing that was once popular in the 80’s and now is back in style.

The youth program at the Southside Church of Christ in Seattle, Washington is geared toward teens ages 13-18. It predominately consists of adolescents who are Christians, however, in order to outreach to youth outside of the Church, the teens are encouraged to invite their friends and family members to activities. All young people are welcome who want to be a part of the youth group. As a result, there are youth of varying backgrounds and races involved at times.

The objective of the youth program is to keep it going as it did when it started approximately 25 years ago. At one time, the now Elder of the Southside Church of Christ, Herman Snoddy was the youth director. The youth did everything from hanging out at church members’ homes to have fun and relax to helping clean elderly members’ homes and run errands for them.

The program is designed to provide youth with activities to promote camaraderie, get them engaged in ministry, and encourage teens academically and spiritually. The group is also intended to help youth have a support system among their peers so that they are less inclined to succumb to peer pressure and get drawn into deviant behavior .

One of the main events that the youth have participated in is the Church of Christ National Youth Conference. This is an annual event that takes place in different states on college campuses. Hundreds of youth come from across the country to fellowship, worship and get involved in various activities. The conference includes workshops for youth and counselors, an excursion, and Pageant Night where a king and queen is crowned.

“If you don’t focus on things like this, they [youth] will wander off,” states Brother Olabamiji Idowu Sr., current youth director. Brother Idowu has been overseeing the youth group for roughly three years. He and his wife Marta, took on the youth group when they saw a need to help when other members moved on to other Church work. Brother Idowu is a deacon at the congregation and has six children of his own.

Most recently, the youth have adopted a senior for a month. This particular program involved the youth getting to know a senior of the congregation by interviewing them, sitting with them during services and visiting them. The activity was to encourage communication between the youth population and the elderly community of the Church. Other events include movie night, game night, a youth retreat, and an outreach opportunity with the homeless of Nickelsville Tent City.

In order to keep the youth engaged in the ministry, the counselors try to come up with new and innovative activities as well as stay motivating and passionate about the ministry. “I saw where the youth were fading in the background. I wanted to have a voice in their direction, in their Christian education,” says Nicole O’Neal, youth counselor. Her desire to help the youth has prompted her to begin organizing, along with her mother, a youth health fair in July.

The youth group fosters strong relationships among the teens. They are often seen sitting together during worship and gathered together in one part of the church building afterword. They not only hang out at church activities but frequently communicate by phone, text message and Facebook as well as do other social activities such sleepovers, parties, and other outings that teens participate in. The youth group of the Southside congregation is a community within itself; nevertheless, the group also helps make the congregation as a whole the community that it is.