Greiner’s
hope was for the church youth to reach out to the Goth youth by
example, “Yes, there’s risk,” he said, “but
the Bible is filled with risk takers.”
Church members weren’t
the only people concerned. Neighbors near the church kept calling
the police. As one explained, “You hear it everyday in the
news—robbery, people hurt. I see these strange looking kids
next door…need I say more?” Something was going to
have to change.
Greiner was optimistic
when some curious churchgoers volunteered to help with the Wednesday
night parking lot ministry. But after several weeks, they decided
to “bombard the gates of heaven with prayer instead,”
Greiner said, “something they felt more comfortable with.”
When the church youth
group learned two “parking lot kids” lived under a
bridge in Snohomish County, they took up a collection to buy sleeping
bags, tents, new backpacks, and toiletries. The two boys, speechless
when the gifts were presented to them, began to cry.
Still, the pressure
was mounting for Greiner. Some church leaders said, “The
[parking lot kids] don’t represent us. It’s nice in
theory, but we have a million-dollar mortgage.” Members
of the congregation were leaving. In April 2000, the church asked
Greiner to disband the parking lot ministry.
Hanging in There for
A.J.
Greiner struggled with
the ultimatum. He had come to love these strange-looking teenagers,
knowing that no one else dared approach them with the gospel.
He was heartened by changes in the church youth’s attitudes.
“They gained an awareness that these weird kids were like
them in many ways. They weren’t scary, they just looked
different.”
It may have also given
the church teenagers a gratefulness for stable families. The Goths
and other at risk teenagers often come from troubled homes—their
parents fight, drink, or use drugs. They don’t have time
for their children, leaving them free to find a “family”
on the street.
A.J. had been brought
up in the church, thinking it was fun at first. But when he saw
the youth group dividing up into cliques that didn’t include
him, it wasn’t fun anymore. As more personal problems escalated
at home, he began to rebel in his dress and started taking drugs.
He gravitated to the Goths because they accepted people on the
edge.
Greiner recognized
A.J.’s leadership qualities and spiritual hunger the more
they talked. A.J. realized the youth pastor really cared.
“My teachers,
the church, regular kids didn’t accept me, but Blayne did.
He was there, no matter what, a cell phone call away,” A.J.
says. When he learned of the church’s request to disband
the parking lot ministry, he was angrier than most of the Goths.
“The church is just jerking us around.”
In June 2000, the Goths
met one last time in the church parking lot. With a parting hug,
one youth said, “Pastor Greiner, I know we’ll start
up again.”
Under Reconstruction
The parking lot kids
went back to hanging out on street corners and convenience stores,
but they missed the camaraderie of the larger group. Some returned
to their old lifestyle of drugs and drinking.
Greiner tried to keep
tabs on the Goths, stopping to talk when he’d see them around
town. Several called him regularly. The youth pastor kept an encouraging
remark from co-worker Sara Schelbrack in mind. “I think
sometimes God stops the work to reconstruct it.”
In September 2000,
Greiner resigned as youth pastor at Crossroads Foursquare church
to devote all his time to expanding the ministry of Youth Unlimited.
God blessed the work with a large house in Monroe, Washington
for free where the group could meet. Four months after their last
meeting on church property, the parking lot kids greeted Greiner
with cheers at their first meeting in Monroe. They were back.
Greiner and his staff
had weekly meetings planned and an intensive mentoring program
ready to plug them into if they wanted. Twenty-two youth registered
for a ten-month program. Participants learn about God, character
issues, life skills, and relationships. A.J., now 19 years old
and actively involved in Youth Unlimited has benefited greatly.
He’s made a commitment to Christ, is building up a painting
business, plays the guitar, and hopes someday to be part of an
outreach team himself. Though A.J. struggles financially trying
to make it on his own and sometimes misses his former friends,
he has no desire to go back to the old lifestyle.
“My old friends
don’t hate me for the decision I made [to follow Christ],”
says A.J. “Though some do think I’m weird.”
Other former Goths
who became Christians and moved out of the area keep in touch
with Greiner. He’s happy to learn that many have found churches
and their faith is getting even stronger.
This year Greiner plans
to launch panel discussions between Goths and youth group members
to help them understand each other better. “Dispelling misconceptions
about Christianity helps get extreme-living teenagers one step
closer to God and his truth,” Greiner explains. One parking
lot regular named Roy, who considers Greiner his pastor, is eager
to participate. A number of local churches have expressed interest
in the idea.
Greiner’s been
able to use some of the teenagers from the Crossroads church on
his Youth Unlimited outreaches, a payoff from the church parking
lot days. “It’s easier to get those youth involved
in city missions because they’re not afraid anymore,”
he says. Greiner encourages Christian teenagers to interact with
alternative teenagers at school, a place where he and other local
pastors have volunteered to monitor lunch, giving them further
access to teenagers.
This past February,
final plans were approved by Gold Creek Community Church in Snohomish
County to launch a new youth outreach program proposed by youth
pastor Brian Muchmore. Greiner has been asked to lead it. Oh,
yes. They’ll be meeting in the parking lot.
You can contact
Blayne Greiner at Youth Unlimited, P.O. Box 1166, Monroe, WA 98272-1166
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