A decade ago youth pastors in Anchorage began talking about a coffee shop where teens could hang out and experience the love of Jesus—a place like the TV show “Cheers,” where a teen could go and have someone, or everyone, know his or her name. This idea continued to be discussed over the years. In April 2003, Parachutes Teen Club and Resource Center opened its doors to teens.

During the summer, word spread throughout the teen community, and by fall the popularity of Parachutes soared with Friday night crowds pushing 300 teens. Currently the center averages 79 visitors daily. In the five years since opening, we have learned a lot, much of which can be condensed into one word: Go.

Theology of Go
John 4 describes Jesus going to Samaria. No one had to go to Samaria (Jews avoided going there for any reason), but the text says Jesus “had to go” to Samaria.

In Matthew 9, the disciples were questioned why their Master ate with sinners. Jesus answered that the sick need the doctor. From His answer we gain the message that He went to the people who needed His message most. As Jesus prepared to ascend to heaven, He told His disciples, “Go, and make disciples.” The word and the method of going are throughout the ministry of Jesus. He did not sit in the temple and wait for people to come to Him. He went to them. Following Jesus’ example, Paul traveled the entire known world. Paul understood that following Jesus meant going.

Most ministries today are built around the word come. We seem to think the best way to minister is to set up a program and invite people to come to us. Ministries get locked into a church building and a church culture. Loads of time, effort and resources are spent looking for the newest and most catchy program, advertisement or gimmick to attract people. Afterward, we look around the room and often feel dejected that no one new has been enticed to join.

Jesus never taught us this. He taught us to go.

The Diamond Center Mall, like most malls, is a magnet for teens. Parachutes is there because it is the place where the teens are. Some say it was genius to place a teen center in the mall, but we simply were following Jesus’ example of going to those who need to hear.

As a church-based youth pastor, I lived the come model of ministry for years, frustrated because new people rarely came; and my group stayed just as homogeneous as when I started. When God called me to the mall, I noticed something. The teens around me were different than others I knew. Many had no church background. What little they knew about Jesus or God was mainly cultural- or media-driven stereotypes.

Something else was different, too. The teens were from a wide variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Teens who never would have stepped foot into my church youth group felt at home in the drop-in center because it was in their world—the mall.

Diversity
The teens we minister to are of very diverse groups. The school district reports that 93 different languages are spoken by district schoolchildren; and roughly 42 percent of students are from ethnic minority groups, including Hispanic, African-American, Pacific Islander and Asian.

We weren’t looking to start a multi-cultural ministry when we opened; we were looking to love the teens in the mall. It was a result of going. We had no designs to be diverse; but we went to the teens, and that’s who they were.

Love
Jesus really only gives us one ministry method—love. When Jesus was asked by the Sadducees and Pharisees what the most important commandment was, He replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:36-40). Later, while teaching His disciples, He tells them people will know they are His followers because of their love. Parachutes’ mission always has been to demonstrate the unconditional love of Jesus. The method is love. The message is love.

Support
Parachutes’ goal is to provide a community for teens to experience the love of Jesus. In the specific case of Native Alaskan teens, we encourage them to be involved in exploring their heritage. It is a common occurrence to see teens practicing for the Native Youth Olympics in Parachutes.

Parachutes does more than encourage ethnic pride. It fosters a “home” away from home for the many kids we know who are refugees from their own families. Our goal of having someone know their names is something we take pride in, and daily you can hear staff calling out the names of teens as they come into the center. We ask how they are doing. We encourage them to stay in school or help them resume their learning. In short, we love them the way Jesus loves us—unconditionally, daily, consistently.

Summing It Up
Martin Luther King Jr., spoke 45 years ago about the segregation seen in so many churches today. The echoes of his words are heard today. One of the reasons is the church is saying come when we should be living go. Very few of the teens I now know ever would have come to my youth group and experienced the love of Jesus, no matter how loudly I yelled come. Because we followed the voice telling us to go, some of them now have.

Where in your world can you go? Who is God calling you to reach? Is it the skater down the street? Or those kids you always see down by the lake? How about the coffee shop? What about the homeless kids hanging out in the park? Or in the mall? Jesus did not keep office hours. He was on the go.