500 HEAR TESTIMONIALS ON SUCCESS OF TEEN CHALLENGE; EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GIVES REPORT ON FUND-RAISING CAMPAIGN DURING ANNUAL BANQUET

More than 500 people were on hand at the Show Me Center Saturday to honor the religious healing power of Mid-America Teen Challenge.

Administrators and supporters of the program attended the 12th annual Spring Banquet for an evening of songs from the Teen Challenge New Creations Choir and testimonies from present and former members of the Teen Challenge student body.

"You may not believe in miracles tonight, but when you see each one of these young men in the Teen Challenge you have to believe in miracles because that's what they are," said Jinny Perry.

Perry, her grandson David Breth, and Lynn Ray Hobbs provided personal testimonies about the success of Teen Challenge during the banquet. She said she has been involved with the program for years and knew it would be instrumental in saving her grandson from drug and alcohol abuse.

"I prayed that he'd go to Teen Challenge and he did," Perry said. "As a grandmother and as a person, I thank God for Teen Challenge. It's a life-saving station."

Hobbs graduated from the program in 1989 and currently sings with the SRA singing group and serves as a volunteer chaplain in the Arkansas prison system. Breth graduated from the Teen Challenge program in 1992 and now serves as youth evangelism coordinator at First Assembly of God Church in Cape Girardeau.

"My friends tell me, 'Dave, you're a holy roller,'" said Breth. "I just tell them 'Buddy, if you knew what I was rolling on you'd come rolling, too.'"

Jack Smart, Teen Challenge executive director, said this year's banquet not only celebrated personal successes but also celebrated the end of a successful two-and-one-half-year capital campaign.

"We had some rough times last summer and we wondered if we would be able to pull it off," Smart said. "We had about $280,000 in firm gifts and pledges in October, and between October and February, we went from $280,000 to about $550,000 in additional gifts and pledges."

The campaign was held to raise funds to expand and improve dormitory housing, increase and improve staff housing, and improve administrative facilities. Smart said the initial work for the construction of a new dormitory wing that will house 32 more participants began earlier in the week. Program capacity will be 140 men once the new wing is completed.

"We're excited because we will be able to increase the number of people to whom we give the knowledge of God and his goodness," Smart said. "This program is one of the most successful of its kind in the world. People have often asked me whether I think we're brainwashing them. The answer is, Yes, we want to wash them with the word of God and introduce them to the world of work."