decided to do something positive for people and to stop lying and to start telling the Truth."

That’s how Kevin Farrell recently described his decision to abandon a 13-year career in advertising in favor of working with young people. For the past seven years he has worked as a youth minister, most recently at the Salesian parish of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Surrey, a few miles southeast of Vancouver, British Columbia.

The parish’s commitment to young people is symbolized by its new two million dollar Don Bosco Youth Center, whose construction was supervised by Fr. John Malloy, SDB, pastor for the past nine years.

To attract local youngsters to the center, Kevin and his leadership team of nine teens and young adults, offer a two-track program, one, primarily recreational, and the other, a mix of instruction, discussion, and socializing.

During the week the center’s gym and craft rooms are used by an average of 120 teens a day. Sunday night activities, meanwhile, vary from week to week.

"One Sunday a month the focus is on topics like drugs, preg-nancy, drinking and suicide," Kevin explained. "Other Sundays are devoted to spirituality and Christian teachings, usually through music and skits, and the fourth Sunday includes barbe-cues, dances, and outings to sports events."

No matter what the focus of the activity, each is organized and usually led by a core team of teenagers and young adults. Teen leaders must be practicing Christians and must have completed a leadership course conducted by the archdiocese.

This peer ministry approach allows teens to learn from one another’s growth experiences without the self-consciousness often associated with trying to meet the expectations of adults in their lives.

When Chris Andrew, one of the core team members, led a Sunday night discussion about how sex and violence in the media influence young people, he received some candid responses.

"Some of the teens admitted that they had seen such movies when they weren’t mature enough to handle the imagery and the topics," he said. "Some even said the crude sex in the films gave them thoughts they didn’t want."

On another occasion, when the topic was premarital sex, Chris said he intended to remain a virgin until he got married. Some of the other teens in his group expressed their appreciation of his remark and said they intended to do the same.

"When the leaders reveal their inmost feelings at group sessions, the other teens generally feel more comfortable in bringing up issues that bother them," Chris explained.

The 17-year-old added that he and the other team leaders try to be models to their peers. "But we never tell them they should do this or that. Often we just give advice and explain how we’ve handled typical teenage problems ourselves."

Susan Galbraith, another teen leader in the parish, said her involvement in the youth ministry program has added new dimensions to her life. "I know more about the Catholic faith, and I now feel comfortable talking to a priest," she said. "I’ve also made new friends. The center is a place to do something positive."

Despite his new career, Kevin, the 37-year-old youth minister admits he’s still in the advertising business, but with a team of teenage assistants. "Now the product is the Gospel message, and the creative strategy is to use a medium that young people will pay attention to."