CUTLER BAY, Fla. — A new program at Sweet Home Church is giving teenagers a place to feel free, understood and welcomed.
Called Club Surge — which stands for “Chosen, Love, Unshaken and Bold” — the initiative was started six months ago by youth pastor Donte Palmer with 100 students. The program has since grown to more than 350 teens who spend their Friday nights at the church.
“They come in hurt, but they’re always going out with a different outlook,” Palmer said. “I seen a gap where teenagers in this area had a lack of resources or didn’t have anywhere positive to go.”
One Friday each month, church staff and Palmer create a safe space for teens to gather. There is food, a DJ, and conversations that many participants say are changing their lives.
“Now I feel like I’m more calm, more peaceful, a more forgiving person, and I come to church and I have fun,” said Brandy Anderson, a high school senior.
Ashton Gary, another high school senior, added, “Anywhere else teenagers would go out and be with their friends, hanging out, partying. Just to see other kids here my age is something really special.”
Palmer said his work runs deeper than what is visible on the surface.
“Kids are dealing with mental health, parents are in jail, parents are leaving them, and they’re choosing to say I love God. And I think that’s the most important part,” he said.
For many teens, the club is becoming a second home.
“I hope we get more teens. We get like 300 now, but I want this whole sanctuary to be filled,” Anderson said.
The church maintains security both inside and outside the building, with Miami-Dade Sheriff’s deputies posted on campus.
Currently, Club Surge meets once a month, but Palmer said students want to gather every Friday, and he is working toward that goal.
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