Kennett teens share faith in God

Kennett High School students Sally McVey, left, and Kristin Privett, right, participate in the Alpha and Omega Society which is made up of approximately 25-35 Christian teen members who hold a meeting once per week in the school auditorium. Christian teens also have a place to gather and discuss their beliefs at the Internet website, www.christianteenforums.com, a site for teens to gather and indulge in chat rooms and blogs relating to religion and life in general.

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Teens in Kennett have a group known as the Alpha and Omega Society which is made up of approximately 25-35 attending members who hold meetings once per week in the high school auditorium.

Individuals like Sally McVey, Kristin Privett, Lauren Smith, Kendall Wells, and Zach Treadway make up a portion of the Christian group that devote themselves to belief in God and support each other in many areas of life and spirituality.

The Alpha and Omega's also gather for national causes and events such as See You at the Pole (SYATP) which takes place on school campuses across the globe. The SYATP event is an opportunity for students to gather around the school flag pole in prayer.

Additional ways that teens can be motivated and feel support in their religious stance is through Internet websites such as, www.christianteenforums.com, a place for Christian teens to gather via the information superhighway and indulge in positive things like chat rooms, blogs, arcades, Christian link directories, news, help and suggestions all relating to Christianity.

The chat rooms on the Christian Teen Forums (CTF) website are regulated and broken down into categories that include general conversation, school, polls, birthdays, God and church, prayer, praises and testimonies, the Bible, and youth groups. Other topics include sports, art, books, poetry, music and movies.

The website is specific to its users in terms of the rules and what is expected. An agreement known as "rules of the board" is posted for visitors to read and agree to before being permitted to participate as a user/member on the site.

The rules state that the website is a place for Christian teens to come together about issues concerning them and to discuss matters of the faith. Claiming to be a positive place of encouragement, the website also states that it is accepting of all visitors regardless of religious beliefs and world views, however, "proselytizing or attacking Christianity is prohibited."

No inappropriate conduct or behavior is tolerated, which includes a variety of acts. Profanity in any form is forbidden, no inappropriate images will be allowed to be posted, all debating is to be done based on Christian values in the debate forum only and must be kept civil and polite. In general, all members are expected to follow the age old "Golden Rule" in which you treat others how you would want to be treated. If someone does violate the terms and condition, they are forfeiting their membership and will be banned from the site.

Internet websites like CTF are providing many teens with a positive and safe place to visit and meet with others. Teens in Dunklin County and other rural areas may significantly benefit from such sites and use them as a tool to learn more about Christianity in other cities, states, and countries. They can also gain from the potential of making a whole new group of friends that have a common belief: Faith in God.