Missoula church reaches out to teens arrested for vandalism

 

Missoula church reaches out to teens arrested for vandalism
The Associated Press

MISSOULA- The congregation of a church vandalized by three young men has invited them to church and is gathering gift baskets for each of them “to reach out and extend love and mercy to them,” an outreach pastor said. “The judge will give them consequences, but as a congregation we want to reach out and extend love and mercy to them,” said Jason Reimer, a pastor of outreach at the South Hills Evangelical Church. “A lot of us, whether we’re churchgoers or not, have been in their shoes before and have made some bad choices. But God forgives us.”   For Justin Wurth, 18, Duane Barry, 19, and Tyler Pearce, also 19, are accused of breaking into SHEC just before midnight on Sunday, Nov. 12. They’re accused of stealing money and electronic equipment, and causing several thousand dollars’ worth of damage. Police arrested them at the church and the three are charged with felony burglary. But last Sunday, Pastor John Erbele devoted his sermon to the young men, preaching about mercy and forgiveness. “He challenged members of the church to give love baskets,” Reimer said. “We’ve collected several hundred dollars’ worth of gift cards, X-Boxes and controllers, a DVD, a VCR. All three young men still live with their parents or grandparents, so we hope the message will be clear.” The church plans to deliver the baskets over the holiday season. Erbele became pastor of the church six years ago, and the congregation has grown from about 50 members to 1,700, Reimer said. Erbele places heavy emphasis on the importance of effective teen outreach, Reimer said. The church sponsors a skatepark and Erbele plays in a Christian rock band and offers a twice-a-week drug recovery program for adults, called Addictions and Recovery in Christ. Because police found marijuana, a pipe and some painkillers on the young men, Reimer said he hopes they’ll consider SHEC as a healthier outlet in the future. “They’ve all been invited to the church, and one of the young men is registered at the skatepark,” Reimer said. “They did smash some stuff, like computer monitors, windows, televisions and sprayed fire extinguisher in the gym, which left a huge mess that we had to have professionally cleaned,” Reimer said. “But this isn’t about the stuff at all. That can be replaced. “Our biggest concern is the hearts of these guys. That’s how we generally feel. We wonder what prompted them to do this in life, and we want to help them get their lives straightened out.”

Church reaches out to teen suspects
By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Missoulian

Three teens accused of burglarizing the South Hills Evangelical Church last week will receive Xboxes instead of exile.

“The judge will give them consequences, but as a congregation we want to reach out and extend love and mercy to them,” said Jason Reimer, a pastor of outreach at the church, which is more commonly known as SHEC Community Center. “A lot of us, whether we're churchgoers or not, have been in their shoes before and have made some bad choices. But God forgives us.”

For Justin Wurth, 18, Duane Barry, 19, and Tyler Pearce, also 19, the bad choices began just before midnight on Sunday, Nov. 12, when they broke into SHEC, located at the corner of Johnson Street and North Avenue.

They stole money and electronic equipment, and caused several thousand dollars' worth of damage. Police caught them in the act, and the teenagers were charged with felony burglary and thrown in jail.

But last Sunday, Pastor John Erbele devoted his sermon to the young men, preaching about mercy and forgiveness.

“He challenged members of the church to give love baskets,” Reimer said. “They're sitting in the office right now, and we hope to get them to the families on Thanksgiving Day. We've collected several hundred dollars' worth of giftcards, Xboxes and controllers, a DVD, a VCR. All three young men still live with their parents or grandparents, so we hope the message will be clear.”

SHEC first opened its doors five years ago in the South Hills, but the tiny congregation has multiplied and now counts nearly 1,500 members. To accommodate the growing congregation, the church bought a former furniture warehouse at 1919 North Ave. W., which also holds an indoor skateboard park, a teen center, a fitness room and more.

Erbele, who wasn't available for an interview Wednesday due to time constraints, places heavy emphasis on the importance of effective teen outreach. In addition to SHEC's skatepark, he plays in a Christian rock band and offers a drug recovery program called Addictions and Recovery in Christ, which targets teenage addicts and is held twice a week.

Because police found marijuana, a pipe and some painkillers on the teens, Reimer said he hopes they consider SHEC as a healthier outlet in the near future.

“They've all been invited to the church, and one of the young men is registered at the skatepark,” Reimer said.

“They did smash some stuff, like computer monitors, windows, televisions and sprayed a fire extinguisher in the gym, which left a huge mess that we had to have professionally cleaned,” Reimer said. “But this isn't about the stuff at all. That can be replaced.

“Our biggest concern is the hearts of these guys. That's how we generally feel. We wonder what prompted them to do this in life, and we want to help them get their lives straightened out.”