What would it take to overshadow the attraction of alcohol and drugs for teenagers? How about a free car? Chris Dorrity has been the youth pastor of Real Life Church since April and recently gave away his second car.
The pastor is originally from Fitzgerald and was the senior pastor of a church in Columbus when he received a call from family friend, Bishop Wes Hardin of Real Life Church.
Dorrity said he was prepared to take the youth pastor’s job because he knows Hardin is a visionary.
“He told me the sky is the limit,” Dorrity said.
The youth group led by Dorrity chose the name Relevant and has a mission statement: building champions for divine deployment.
The first car given away by the church was the youth pastor’s personal vehicle. The car given away August 23 was a 1999 GMC Jimmy, donated by Elder Benny Cannon.
The Jimmy was won by Kelly Forehand. In addition to the car, a $1,000 shopping spree was won by Bria Barron.
An estimated 300 youth came to the recent drawing. The group meets weekly in a tent behind the church and spends an hour expending a great deal of energy complete with loud music and dancing but also includes preaching and praying for one another.
“One day we hope to give away a house,” Dorrity commented.
The pastor said giving away a car is a means to attract the attention of young people. The cars were given away in a random drawing requiring nothing of the students to be eligible except to show up.
“It catches people off guard,” Dorrity explained. “They always want to know what the catch is, but we want to show them there is no catch, just like there is no catch in accepting Jesus.”
Dorrity said he is a visual person and has to see something to be able to comprehend it. He feels giving a car with no strings attached sends a powerful message.
“I told the kids to show up and bring someone with them,” he said. “I didn’t want to just preach it. I wanted to give them an experience they would never forget.”
The pastor said he does not feel he is competing with other churches for the attention of the young people, but he is competing against nightspots like Whiskey River.
“They have the biggest youth group in the area, but we have the best product,” he added. “We have the most exciting hour in Jones County Wednesday night at 7:30. I can realistically say that if the same group of kids went to Whiskey River, they would say they had more fun at church Wednesday night.”
He emphasized that his ministry is not asking anything from the young people but is offering a better quality of life.
Another aspect of the youth ministry is a bus that will be used for tailgating at Jones County football games.
“When I got here, I asked what was the biggest event in Jones County and found out it was football games,” Dorrity said. “It was the idea of Justin Kelly to buy a bus, fix it up, and paint it in Jones County colors.”
Dorrity said the bus will be at both home and away games with a grill and music for the largest tailgate party in the area and to support the football team.
“God comes first, but I’ve been able to win more people to God on the football field than in church. My deal is ‘let’s go be a light’,” he said.
