In a world desensitized to drug use, illicit sex, violence and profanity, some adults have taken on the responsibility to combat these influences to the teen market.

Many of those adults are youth ministers. And no matter what faith the youth minister advocates, one thing is clear - each one has a heart for teens.

Holy Sepulcher Roman Catholic Church is trying to better serve the needs of teens with the enthusiasm and hard work of its youth minister, Jenifer King.

King, who attended Holy Sepulcher while growing up, said the church did not have programs tailored toward young people until six years ago when the first life teen minister started the youth ministry.

King took over the program two years ago.

"It (Catholicism) has changed so much in a decade," King said.

Holy Sepulcher hosts several events aimed at teens, from masses to hang-out nights.

But even when the group gets together to just hang out on a more social basis, prayer time is always the first activity.

"Prayer is how they build a relationship with Christ," King said. "Prayer is so essential."

King meets with the group two to three times a month, gets calls all hours of the night and can be most often found at her computer, chatting with a teen or two online.

"

You can preach to them all you want, but it will go in one ear and out the other," King said. "The biggest chance to bring Christ to teens is through your actions.

"

The number one thing they want is to be loved and feel loved."

King said she is careful to remind teens that "Christ is present to them in all the same ways I am in their day-to-day lives, but He can do far more for them than I can ever do."

Jeff Gwilt, youth pastor at First Baptist of Butler, takes a discipleship approach to youth ministry.

"You want to lead them to be more like Christ," he said, "and the best way to do that is to spend time with them."

Building an initial relationship with teens is essential for Gwilt, who has been leading the group since June.

The group has friendly competitions and free time to get to know one another.

Gwilt thinks it's important to be passionate about what he believes so he can share his faith and be an effective youth minister.

"I want my passion

for

God to be contagious," he said. "We try to model for Christ, then we minister and that's got to be based on the Bible.

"I want the Lord to set up the opportunity for me

(to share Jesus)

because this is very personal."

Gwilt said he wants teens to realize they serve a big God, a God much bigger than this world.

"When we get in trouble, it is usually when we forget that," Gwilt said.

Youth pastor Dave Havener has a bit of a hurdle to conquer when dealing with youth of Mars Alliance Church. At 45, he said he is viewed as the old man.

"Sometimes the tendency is to be a kid," he said, "but I can't do that. I look silly doing that."

Despite the age difference, he also begins with building a relationship with the youth.

"You look for those open doors to minister and I pray for them," Havener said. "And a lot of the time, the Lord opens the door."

Havener, who meets with group members twice a week, incorporates pop culture themes - such as the recent Janet Jackson controversy at the Super Bowl - into his youth meetings. However, he said he prefers to put the Bible in the forefront of his messages.

"I want to teach them that God is in our lives all the time and let them use these other things to show his presence," Havener said.

The Congregation B'Nai Abraham takes a different approach.

The youth group focuses on the traditions of the synagogue, as well as giving an opportunity to socialize with youth of other synagogues.

According to Hazzan Adriane Caplowe, teaching young people about Judaism, Israel and the Torah is the priority.

"Membership is for those who are Jewish," Caplowe said.

The youth at Congregation B'Nai Abraham also learn Hebrew during their group meetings.

But like youth groups of other beliefs, Caplowe said the youth group also raises money for trips, such as the one they have scheduled to the National Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C.