It's working at 3:12. People are coming to the center.

Now the center is going to throw open the doors for an evening of music, worship, testimony and fellowship. Washboard Tony and Friends will play from 7 to 9 p.m. June 2 at 312 N. Main St.

Tony Frochio calls the evening Shout Out and said it is for drug awareness in Butler. June's evening follows a similar event in March.

“We had a very nice crowd,” said Valerie Checkeye, director of community partnerships at North Main Street Church of God. “It was just a beautiful night.”

Checkeye said 3:12 opened in January as a center for teens and adults.

“It's really been just a safe place to come, have coffee and talk to someone,” she said. “We use it as a hub to connect people to a church or Christ-centered recovery program or for referrals for more practical needs they might have.”

Frochio wants the community to know resources are available.

“Music is very strong. Music draws people, especially if you have a good message to go with the music,” Frochio said.

He said people may not know where to turn when they have a family member, loved one or friend going through difficulties with drugs. During Shout Out, individuals will be available to talk privately and suggest resources, whether the questioners are looking for their own recovery and support or for someone else.

“It's open to anybody. You don't have to be a church-going person,” Frochio said.

Shout Out also will be free with no call for donations or offerings.

“We're all in it together. We're not in it to criticize anyone,” he said. “It's a positive thing.”

Frochio plays rock, blues and folk music. For Shout Out other musician friends will participate.

“It's going to be more of an unplugged show. It's not going to be loud. It's like a coffee shop setting. People can still talk without yelling at each other,” Frochio said. “They can still make the connections.”

He will sing, lead the band and play drums, congas, washboards and spoons.

“Most of the music that we do is secular music that you hear on the radio, but I pick songs that relate to people that are hurting,” he said.

The center's name, 3:12, comes from Colossians 3:12, “Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

Checkeye said the organizers see 3:12 as a light in the community to meet people where they are and point them to other local faith-based ministries.

Celebrate Recovery is a community resource sometimes suggested to 3:12 visitors. The group helps those struggling with drugs, alcohol, depression and other issues. The group meets at 7 p.m. Monday at North Main Street Church of God, 1201 N. Main Street Ext.

“There are a lot of people who could benefit from the ministry because they have hurt, hang-ups and habits,” said Priscilla Gilbert, a ministry leader for Celebrate Recovery and a volunteer at 3:12. “To help someone see that, you have to build a relationship and that's what 3:12 is all about.”

Groups interested in offering a ministry at 3:12 should contact North Main Street Church of God.

Alpha Recovery Group, a Christ-centered 12-step program for those struggling with addictions, meets from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays at 3:12. This group will continue meeting through the summer.

Center organizers have a partnership with the residential treatment center Adult and Teen Challenge.

Volunteers at 3:12 also refer people to programs at the Lighthouse, including its interim and transitional housing program, as well as Seeds of Hope and the Bridge service, both at First United Methodist Church, 200 E North St.

Gilbert, ministry leader for Celebrate Recovery, said volunteers staff 3:12 and she is one of them.

“I'm awed every day by what happens down there,” Gilbert said. “We don't know the schedule. It's God's schedule.”

Nevertheless, the center has a steady flow of new and returning visitors.

“The honesty that you get from people when you provide a safe place to be real — some of them just want a cup of coffee and someone to talk to who won't judge them in the midst of their addiction,” Gilbert said.

“So far we have been able to give people one-on-one attention,” she said.

Volunteers participate in training offered in the community. Gilbert trained to lead a recovery ministry. She and some of the other volunteers are in recovery and she said they have walked the success side of it.

“They have been delivered from drugs and alcohol,” Gilbert said. “My training is what God has done in my life.”

She said they would like more volunteers.

“I wish we had that light on from first thing in the morning till late at night,” she said.

Summer hours for 3:12 will be posted in the center's window soon. Information about summer events will be on the Facebook page “3:12 on Main Street.”

“The first (Shout Out) was really awesome. We were packed. It was a good night,” Gilbert said.

“We're just trying to make the city better,” Frochio said. “I'm a cancer survivor. I'm so blessed. I'm just trying to give something back.”

“We need to get more resources, more guidance out to people,” Frochio said. “We can all pull together to find a solution.”

For more information about 3:12, contact Valerie Checkeye at valeriec@northmaincog.org or call 724-285-4214.