Teen Challenge graduates tell their stories at annual banquet

Almost 1,000 students, alumni, community members and sponsors were on hand to celebrate at the annual Adult and Teen Challenge Mid-America banquet Saturday at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

Executive director the Rev. James Bolin said this is the main event of the year, when community members, churches and donors come together to honor students and graduates.

“We want the community to know that the drug epidemic is at historic proportions,” Bolin said. “It’s tearing people apart, homes and families apart. Teen Challenge offers hope to families, to addicts.”

Bolin said they have approximately 170 students at the Cape Girardeau facility right now, and the students are not charged a fee for the entirety of their 10-month stay.

“It’s due to the generosity of our donors because of the folks here tonight,” Bolin said. “We want the community to know that without them, there would be no Teen Challenge.”

The Teen Challenge International of Mid-America Choir sings Saturday during the ministry's annual banquet at the Show Me Center.Fred Lynch

Bolin said their other outreaches also contribute to their overall budget. The thrift stores in Cape Girardeau and in Jackson, the car wash on Independence Street in Cape Girardeau and Teen Challenge’s lawn service are all elements of the picture, Bolin said.

“In addition, those all help teach our men skills and a work ethic, so when they leave, they’re well spiritually, mentally, physically,” he said, which will help them find employment and build a better life.

This year’s theme, Let Us Rise Up and Build, is from Nehemiah 2:18. The biblical figure Nehemiah was called to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem with God’s help, and Bolin said this is what Teen Challenge’s mission is all about.

Pastor Zack Strong of Christ Church of the Heartland gave the invocation, and instead of a single keynote speaker, at this year’s banquet, the crowd heard testimony from several speakers.

Larry Shireman II, a current student at Teen Challenge and member of the men’s choir, said Teen Challenge’s program made the difference in his life. Shireman’s father, Larry Sr., graduated from the program in 2003, and in 2015, he helped his son enter the program when Larry II’s 15-year addiction to methamphetamine finally came to a head.

Teen Challenge graduates Chad and Bonnie Beebe speak Saturday at the annual banquet of Teen Challenge International of Mid-America at the Show Me Center.Fred Lynch

“Teen Challenge didn’t save my life, but it was the cast that allowed me to do it,” Shireman II said.

“I thank the people sitting out there tonight who donated their time and finances,” Shireman II said, adding that support keeps Teen Challenge going.

Dave Holland, who graduated in 2011, spoke to the benefit of the Teen Challenge program.

Chad and Bonnie Beebe, a married couple who graduated the program in 2014, now live in northwest Arkansas. They married in 2016 and have devoted their lives to working for God.

The Rev. Gary Brothers of Cape First in Cape Girardeau gave the faith commitment and offering.

The benediction was offered by pastor Bill Carter of Full Gospel Pentecostal in Alto Pass, Illinois.

In all, the program listed 34 individual or couple donors, 19 churches and 12 businesses.

A final amount for proceeds was not immediately available, but Bolin said this, the 47th year for Teen Challenge, has been a success.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

1333 N. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.