TEEN CHALLENGE BANQUET SATURDAY

Guests who attend the Teen Challenge International Mid-America annual spring banquet should leave with a sense of hope and encouragement.

"We want individuals to know that no matter how down in the depths of sin and degradation that they are, there is hope for them through Teen Challenge," said the Rev. Jack Smart, the group's executive director. "Jesus Christ changes people's hearts and lives, whatever the situation they are facing."

The banquet will be at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Show Me Center. A similar event is scheduled at 7 p.m. in Carbondale, Ill. The theme for the evening is "Hope Changes Everything."

Students enrolled in the Teen Challenge program will share their testimonies, and the New Creations choir will perform. Several alumni have been invited to share songs or testimonies, and a video of the musical talent and Teen Challenge program will be shown.

Teen Challenge International Mid-America has operated its ministry programs, which offer a Christian setting for people with drug and alcohol problems, in Cape Girardeau County for 31 years.

Construction on a new administrative center for the program is scheduled to begin sometime this summer. About 110 people are enrolled in the local program.