H15 Ministries ushers in a new era for area teens
The fellowship and joy of teens gathering together has already begun to make an impact in the Millersburg area as H15 Ministries opened its doors recently. The youth center has plenty of activities to keep the youth hopping and happy.
H15 Ministries has opened its doors to area teens, offering them a place to gather and relax. While it may get loud and raucous, Andy and Tammy Schafer, directors of H15 Ministries, wouldn’t want it any other way.
“Those sounds are music to our ears,” Andy Schafer said of the noise the teens make every Tuesday evening from 4-8 p.m. “That is exactly why we began this journey.”
Nearly three years ago Andy and Tammy Schafer began their journey toward turning a dilapidated downtown Millersburg building into a thriving center where teens could gather and enjoy time together with each other and with mentors.
Three years of diligence and hard work along with plenty of volunteer work paid off when on March 26 the Schafers turned the closed sign to open and officially ushered in a new era in providing a haven for area teens to commune.
“One of the really neat things we have experienced over the first few weeks has been that the youth are coming to us and thanking us,” Schafer said. “They are actually recognizing that this is a good thing for them and for our community, and that is a wonderful thing. The other cool thing is that at least three-quarters of the kids we have seen we didn’t know, so the word of mouth is spreading.”
The concept behind the center is to create a place where teens can interact with one another as well as interact with the adult mentors who volunteer.
“We want teens to come in with an intentional mind-set of coming in here to make friends, meet people they don’t know and spend a fun time together,” Schafer said. “It has been really cool because we have seen them interacting with each other and with us, and that is very encouraging because the kids are genuinely eager to come in and enjoy the atmosphere.”
Area teen Dylan Whitworth began volunteering to help clean H15 three years ago and was one of the Schafers most loyal helpers. He was the one who designed the H15 Ministries logo, and he said seeing the center open is nothing short of miraculous.
“They’ve brought something that was dead back to life and made it into something amazing,” Whitworth said. “This is something that Millersburg really needed. Seeing what Andy and Tammy were doing really inspired me to take part, and in making the logo, I really wanted to create something modern and youthful.”
Painted on to the hardwood floor near the entrance, the H15 logo now greets everyone as they enter the facility.
Volunteers Barb and John Knapp lend their talents an evening a week in mentoring at the center. They have already seen a great deal of joy enter the front door and are excited about the possibilities.
A former teacher in the West Holmes School District, Barb Knapp knows a number of the teens who have enjoyed the offering of H15.
“We love kids, and we recognized that there was a big need for something like this in Millersburg, and this is a perfect fit, so we felt impelled to volunteer,” Barb Knapp said. “There is a little bit of an intimidation factor at first, but they quickly get very comfortable, and the fellowship just happens.”
H15 Ministries now has two events looming in the near future. The first is its second annual fundraiser banquet at Farmstead Restaurant in Berlin on April 30 from 5-8 p.m. The public is invited to that evening of dining and fellowship where H15 board members and volunteers will serve as hosts, hostesses and servers. During that night H15 Ministries will receive 15 percent of all sales, 15 percent of all baked goods sold and all of the tips collected on the evening. Last year saw the center raise $2,000 from this event.
The second event will be a grand-opening celebration on Saturday, May 4 from 2-4 p.m. The day will feature a ribbon-cutting ceremony, hot dogs and refreshments, the Abundant Life worship team playing live music, and plenty of activities and time for patrons to explore the new teen facility.
“We will give tours and open up the games to everyone,” Schafer said. “We want it to be a time of fellowship and fun where people can see exactly what we are offering area teens. It is something that we have been looking forward to for a long time.”
The grand opening falling on May 4 is not by coincidence. That day marks the third anniversary to the day of when the Schafers received the keys to the facility.
“I love the symbolism,” Schafer said.
H15 Ministries appears to be on the verge of becoming one of Millersburg’s major teen hangouts, and the public is invited to help usher in the center and support it in the upcoming events.