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Winnipeg, Man.
MB church holds summer youth drop-in centre



McIvor Avenue Mennonite Brethren Church in Winnipeg held its second “BreakThru”, a community youth drop-in centre, in July and August. University students Dale Douma and Kristi Koss, along with a host of church volunteers, ran the event. During the eight weeks, over 550 youth came for a single evening or on a regular basis. Activities included playing pool, shuffleboard, table tennis, foosball, N64, basketball and a variety of wheeled sports – skateboarding, rollerblading and BMX biking.

Each evening featured a short “God talk” session that was well received by the youth. A highlight of the summer was an evening when the skateboard demo team from The Edge, an inner city ministry of Youth for Christ, drew the largest single attendance for the summer with 130 people. On average BreakThru had from 60 to 100 youth attend in the course of an evening.

“Being in leadership always brings struggles along with benefits, but God was with us every minute,” states Koss. “He surpassed our expectations. We had no serious injuries, only one theft, two fights and lots of opportunities to get to know the youth and their culture.”

Douma adds, “We considered this second year to be the most important, a ‘make-it-or-break-it’ year.” BreakThru will be continuing throughout the school year as “The Sequel”, which will be held in the Church gym on Sunday afternoons in two time slots, one for junior high and the other for senior high.

 – Kristi Koss and Dale Douma

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Last modified October 20, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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