NEWBURG – The small community of Newburg, Mo., is having a big impact on the youth of the area with the 2CM Youth Center. Sharon Paris, member of Fort Wyman Baptist Church in Rolla and founder of the youth center, is excited about what is happening.
“It is an ongoing miracle,” Paris said, “we never know what God will provide, but He has been faithful. We’ve seen three teens come to know Jesus since the beginning of the school year. The teens really named the center because they wanted the community to see Jesus in them.”
“We started having Bible clubs in the church,” she said, “the center is on the same side of the street as the church and the school. So, it makes it easy for the children to come.”
The youth center had its Grand Opening in the middle of March, but it is really a reopening.
Paris began the youth center years ago when her husband was a pastor in the area. When they followed God’s call to another location, she had to leave the youth center. During the years Paris was out of the area, the center fell into disrepair. When she returned to the area, three years ago, she was alarmed by the state of the building.
“It was in terrible shape,” she said. “The wood was rotted, the pipes were busted and when we gutted the building, we discovered severe termite damage.”
According to Paris, this is when the real miracles began. “In May 2023, we raised enough money to patch the roof and then, we had to invest in a metal roof. We had to replace ceiling tiles and carpet to remove asbestos, so we rebuilt from bottom to top.”
“We’ve had so many workmen volunteer their time and their skills,” she continued. “One man made us his mission trip because he is an electrician and he came in and rewired the entire place.”
In addition to FBC Newburg, other Baptist churches have joined in the support. Paris identified support from Mt. Olive Baptist Church, Fort Wyman Baptist Church and FBC Jerome. “The pastor and his wife from First Jerome come each week and lead Child Evangelism Fellowship for the children, she added.”
“The community has also really supported us,” she said. “All the churches in Newburg, banks and some stores have donated,” she continued.
Paris believes the community appreciates their motto. “We fight juvenile delinquency and community deterioration,” she said. “We do that by teaching about Jesus, positive role models and parenting classes.”
Teens at the youth center accomplish many community projects. “We have done community clean ups, river cleanups and we have done a lot of work in the parks. We want them to be serving Christians.”
The volunteers at the 2CM train the youth by loving them. “Many of these kids come from poverty,” Paris said. “The area is known for drugs, and the children might have a parent in prison or they are being raised by grandparents. We want them all to come in and have fun with us.”
Paris said a pool table, foosball, ping pong table as well as indoor and outdoor basketball courts were all donated to the center.
“We try to feed them after school,” she said. “We don’t know when they have eaten last, so we try to give them pizza, hot dogs or some other food when they come into the center. We want them to know we care.”
