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Date Posted: 09:33:29 02/06/03 Thu
Author: Jay Hovah
Subject: "I want you to go psycho for God this weekend"

Mon, Jan 27, 2003

'I want you to go psycho for God'

Teens celebrate their faith in hip fashion

By Amy E. Bowen
Marshfield News-Herald

Forget the hard wooden pews, long sermons and old-fashioned hymns. Church leaders know there's a different way to get teens excited about worshipping God.

Believers Church, 2701 W. Veterans Parkway, hosted between 400 and 500 teens Friday and Saturday for the 16th annual Winter Blast, a youth retreat.

But this wasn't the average church service.

The teens celebrated their faith in almost a party-like atmosphere, with acoustic sermons, a punk Christian rock band, a basketball tournament, a dating game and lots of pizza.

"People don't want to be Christian because they think it's boring," said Jacob Board, 16, who came with his youth group from Elroy. "But then I say that I get to go to a rock band and go into a mosh pit. We have fun. We defy the rules."

Believers Church turned its sanctuary into a miniature entertainment venue last weekend, complete with a stage, an acoustic band, red spotlights, rice paper lights and a fog machine. As the kids sang along to the songs, with the words were displayed on three life-size video screens.
The adult ushers, dressed all in black, watched in back, sometimes singing just as loudly. Other volunteers wore picture I.D.s that looked more like backstage passes than paper name tags.

"I want you to go psycho for God this weekend," the guitarist screamed as he broke into another song Friday night, adding. "We're going to kick the devil's butt with this song."
The teens, age 12 to 20, clapped, cheered, hugged, cried, laughed and danced as the music played.

This young, hip approach seems to be working. Tammy Pientka, 21, assistant youth director for Believers, first attended the event six years ago. Her parents forced her to go, she said. Since then, she has been a permanent fixture. The retreat lets kids celebrate their faith on their level, Pientka said.

"God is cool," she said. "People are starting to realize that. It's not about waking up to go to church on Sunday morning. It's about living your life for God, and it's amazing."
Some kids say that the retreat is a place where they feel accepted and are able to express their faith. Jocelyn Miller, 16, of Fall Creek said it's difficult to "find a place" to belong in her public high school. It bothers her that she can't read the Bible in school or openly talk about her beliefs.

Many teens agree. Sherri Nelson, 15, of Chippewa Falls doesn't like many of the bands her peers are into, such as Korn or Nirvana. She also finds it difficult to understand why today's youth like artists who abuse drugs or alcohol. They're not appropriate role models, Nelson said..

But she finds comfort in gatherings such as this one.

"Teen-agers today need to be reached and they need to be helped," Nelson said. "They need somebody who knows Christ to take them by the hand. They need to know that God is there and will always be there."
Lisa Neitz, 17, of Stillwater, Minn., loves the Winter Blast. She has experienced God, she said, and it's hard to explain the impact it has had on her life.

"It's uplifting," Neitz said. "Everyone is looking for someone to model their life after. It's an amazing place to be."
Some adults took part in the worshipping as well. In the back, a constant stream of men and women came into listen, dance and pray. Pientka said she even had to turn away chaperones.

James Zygarlicke, an usher and member of Believers Church, watched the teens with a smile on his face. At times, he sang, raised his arms up and let out a passionate "Amen."
He likes to be around kids because it keeps him young, he said. And he knows that they aren't partial to organ music, although he said he'd rather have a country band playing rather than a rock band.

"I see a lot more hunger in the teen-agers of today," Zygarlicke, 56, said. "A lot of them are searching for answers."
Teens look forward to the event every year , Board said. He actually counts down the days until the next Winter Blast.

"It all comes down to God," Pientka said. "I don't know why all of these kids are here, but if they want to be here, we'll continue hosting them."
Amy E. Bowen can be reached at 1-715-384-3131 or 1-800-967-2087, ext. 333, or at amy.bowen@cwnews.net.

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