Website helps youth find positive Christian rolemodels

Depression among young people is on the rise. Suicide has become the third leading cause of death for teens behind accidents and homicide. By the time teenagers reach 16, only five percent feel good about themselves. There is an increasing sense of isolation and positive role models have been scarce. With this in mind, two graduates from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C. set out to give youth a place to air their opinions, their concerns and to see some positive possibilities for role models among their more famous peers, as well as older celebrities through the creation of a website-Person2Person Christian E-zine.

Charles A. White, MAR, STM
(352) 332-0514
person2person@p2pezine.com

From Columbine to California, from the busy boroughs of New York City to the rural area of Fort Gibson, Okla., the youth of the United States of America have borne tragedies recently that were unthinkable ten years ago. Fear is becoming a way of life for many children. It is estimated that one in four students are a victim of school violence, and one in 12 children who stay home from school due so out of fear.

Depression among young people is on the rise. Suicide has become the third leading cause of death for teens behind accidents and homicide. By the time teenagers reach 16, only five percent feel good about themselves. There is an increasing sense of isolation and positive role models have been scarce.

With this in mind, two graduates from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C. set out to give youth a place to air their opinions, their concerns and to see some positive possibilities for role models among their more famous peers, as well as older celebrities.

Their answer was to set up a Web site. Called Person 2 Person, it originally started out as a project to fulfill an independent study requirement.

"But it exploded," said Charles White, one of the founders. "With absolutely no publicity, we received about 175 visitors to the Web site in just a few days."

Over the last three years, the number of visitors the to Web site have increased dramatically. The site boasts visitors from throughout the United States and as far away as Australia.

"One of the biggest problems we saw that hindered youth was a lack of communication," observed Bobby Morris, the sites co-founder. Youth need a place to safely address issues and the problems facing them. They need a place where faith stories are shared-where they can share their faith story."

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The site is not limited to youth, however. "What we do is challenge youth -- and those who minister to them- youth ministers, Pastors, Sunday School teachers, parents, etc.-to think about the issues that face them and to reflect on how these issues impact their faith, their families and their community," explained White.

The site also provides a comfortable forum for those in the public eye to share their faith journeys, something celebrities are rarely allowed to do.

"What we hope to do is to lift up Christian role models for our youth while at the same time allowing well-known individuals the opportunity to reflect theologically on their faith journeys," Morris elaborated.

Past interviews have featured celebrities such as Lou Holtz (former head football coach for Notre Dame and current head coach for the University Of South Carolina), Brandon Slay (2000 Olympic gold medalist in wrestling), Dale Jarrett (champion NASCAR driver), Jennifer Knapp (Grammy nominated and Dove award winning musician), and Sara Evans (country music star).

Person 2 Person may be contacted by calling up the Web site at: http://www.p2pezine.com

E-mail at Person2Person@p2pezine.com.                        
Postal address is
Person 2 Person 5950 SW 20th Ave #13, Gainesville, Florida 29127

Phone: (352) 332-0514

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