Teen Challenge gala serves to inspire

The Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau welcomed the annual fundraising banquet of the faith-based program Teen Challenge International of Mid America on Saturday in Cape Girardeau.

The doors of the Show Me Center opened at 5 p.m., and people filled the venue with laughter and smiles. Over 950 people were counted by the organization.

James Bolin, executive director of Teen Challenge, explained the banquet's purpose is to bring friends, families and churches together for a night where they can get more acquainted with the program's ministry.

"In addition, it's our main event of the year to raise funds for the ministry," said Bolin. "We currently have 170 students at our center here in Cape Girardeau, so those funds are used entirely for the sole purpose to minister and take care of our students.

"Tonight we are going to be starting out with our praise and worship, and in addition we are going to have some testimonies from students and a testimony from an alumni student," said Bolin as he listed the evening schedule. "It's going to be a powerful night."

Caleb Clark, a student at Teen Challenge International of Mid America, presents his testimony. (Fred Lynch)

As a few bits of confetti from the Hunter Hayes concert Friday night still fell from the Show Me Center's ceiling, the festivities started Saturday evening with spiritual music. The Teen Challenge choir took the stage to perform several songs. Lyrics were projected on two big screens for the audience to sing with them.

After Bolin introduced a pastor for the praise and worship, he introduced the Teen Challenge student body as they walked into the room amid a standing ovation.

Usually, the students come into the spotlight toward the end of the banquet. But this year, each table was left with an empty chair for a student, giving guests the chance to interact with them for the evening.

After people were given time to socialize and eat, the choir sang a few more songs. After their performances, testimonies were given not only by students of Teen Challenge but by family members who explained how the association helped loved ones.

Teen Challenge in Cape Girardeau is a long-term, residential, faith-based program that ministers to men age 17 and older with drug, alcohol and other addictions.

The Teen Challenge program is 14 months long, and the Cape Girardeau center is the residential phase of the program. It currently counts 170 students.

"We are an academic program in which we address their academic needs," Bolin said. "If they come to us and they do not have a GED while they are here, they can receive their GED. Secondly, we are a vocational program; we have many areas vocationally that they can work at, whether it'd be construction, woodworking, lawn care, thrift store. And then thirdly and most importantly, we are a spiritual program and we address the spiritual part as well."

Teen Challenge, part of a worldwide network of ministries, has existed since the 1960s and aims at helping those with problems. Other programs for men and women can be found on the National Teen Challenge website at teenchallengeUSA.com.

For additional information on TCIMA, visit teenchallengemidamerica.com.