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Photograph by Grant Wernick

Eric Guizzetti gets air off the half pipe at The Zone.

Some area churches design a fresh new approach to teen ministry

By Pam Marino

Jesus never rode a skateboard.

But that hasn't stopped one local Christian church from using skateboarding as a way to attract new believers.

Every other Friday during the summer, the staff and volunteers of Abundant Life Church in Cupertino work all day to transform the church's parking lot into a skateboard and rollerblading park for teens.

In addition to skateboard ramps and a roller-hockey rink, there's basketball, a trampoline, a game room and a climbing wall. It's all free, except for the snack bar. Teens bring their own equipment.

"I really like it. You have everything here. It's like an amusement park for free," said Thomas Sanders, 12, of Cupertino. "I think it should happen every week."

Sunnyvale residents and Abundant Life members Crystal Spencer, 16, and Amanda Conlee, 18, said they like the opportunity to just be with other teens in a fun environment.

"It gives the people something to do other than hang out on the street," Conlee said.

Between 300 and 350 teens flock from all over the South Bay to what the church calls The Zone. Some have even come from as far away as Watsonville.

The Abundant Life Church is doing it all in an effort to preach the Gospel to kids in grades 6-12.

This is the second year the church has offered The Zone. Church members must raise approximately $12,000 a year to finance the summertime program.

The crowd that shows up is made up of mostly boys, although more and more girls are coming, said youth pastor Vito Impastato, especially since the climbing wall was added this year.

The Zone is one of the most elaborate programs presented by local churches to attract teens during the summer.

While some churches literally shut their youth programs down from June to September, others extend their weekly nighttime programs through the summer months.

A few, however, take advantage of not having the competition of homework and other extracurricular activities of the school year by planning extra trips and service projects.

"It's a great opportunity, because people have more time and they want more church activities," said Steve Wilde, youth pastor at Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church.

Youth Pastor Bryan Zailer of Springs of Life Fellowship in Sunnyvale said that as the school year winds down, he is gearing up.

"This is my busy season," Zailer said.

Like Zailer, the pastors at Sunnyvale's Trinity Baptist Church gear up for teens during the summer. The church offers a program similar to The Zone on a smaller scale. Called "Mega Mondays," it also features skateboard ramps, a trampoline, air hockey and volleyball. The program is held almost every Monday night of the summer from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The cost to teens is $1.

Wilde, Zailer and Impastato offer year-round Wednesday night programs at their churches. In the summer they add additional activities; Impastato has The Zone, and other churches add activities such as pool parties, trips to local spots like Great America and camping trips.

Several youth pastors interviewed said they want to give teens a place to learn about God, but they also want teens to have a place to just come and feel comfortable.

John Bartz, the new youth director at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Sunnyvale, said one of his first goals is to "give kids a place to come interact with other youth, to have fun ... and to feel good about themselves."

Impastato said his main goal at The Zone is to offer kids a message of acceptance and hope they can remember in the future.

"We know if a kid is ever in crisis, they'll turn to us first," he said.

Summer activities, the pastors said, are a good opportunity to build relationships that will help the kids as they head into a busy school year.

Pat Quaid of St. Luke Lutheran Church in Sunnyvale said summer activities are a way of keeping existing youth groups bonded together.

Keeping up the habit of coming to church year-round is another reason for summer activities, Quaid said.

Besides the fun, games and Bible study, some churches also send their youth out on service projects, sometimes traveling south of the border.

Wilde will be taking a group down to Mexico in August to build two homes for needy families.

"These trips provide an opportunity to take kids out of their comfort zones here in Sunnyvale and Cupertino and to help other people," he said. "These trips put their faith into action."

At Abundant Life one recent Friday night, it is half-time at The Zone, time for the church's 15-minute message. All the activities are shut down, and the teens are ushered over to the lawn area.

"Since [The Zone] is free, it's not too much to ask," Impastato said of the requirement to listen to the church's message.

On this night some of the church's own teens are putting on a drama. With no words, the kids act out scenes to a Christian pop song.

Not all of the approximately 300 teens are watching; many are laughing and talking through the drama.

Then Justin gets up.

"My name is Justin, and I go to the church here. The drama we just did is where I was last year," he said. The teens fall completely silent, as Justin tells them a tale of his life before church, which he said included drugs, parties and sex.

"I tried everything that the world had," Justin said. He said he came out to The Zone last summer and eventually decided to convert. "I took everything I did before and I dropped it."

Impastato then gets up to encourage the teens to close their eyes and bow their heads. He asks anyone who wants to change their lives to raise their hands. No one does, although on past nights others have, according to teens who attend faithfully. Impastato goes on with a brief prayer, and then it's back to the action.

Teens interviewed said they don't mind the 15-minute message; they said it is better than an hour spent in church.

"It's a little bit better cause it reaches you more," said Gavin McCann, 11, of Cupertino. In church, McCann said, "all the old people are talking, and you don't really get what it's about."

Amber Whittiker, 14, of San Jose, who goes to a church in Campbell, and her friends said they don't think kids who don't go to church are turned off by the religious message.

"It's not like its crammed down your throat," she said. "Most people respect it."

Parents interviewed said they are grateful for the supervised environment, even if the cost of admission is a religious message.

"I think that's very good," said Mahna Croes of Saratoga. Her family does not go to church, but she brings her 12-year-old son for the rollerblading. "It's nice to see the church doing this kind of thing for the kids."

Cindy Carr, of Cupertino, said her son, who goes to Catholic school, loves the opportunities provided by The Zone during the summer.

"The kid has nothing else to do other than TV and Nintendo," she said. "I wish they had this every night."

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, July 22, 1998.
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