DECATUR - It's not about Jeremy Snead's intimidating 6-foot-4-inch frame or his ability to relate to youths at their level that has caused the youth ministry at LIFE Foursquare Church to more than double in size in the past year.

It seems to be more of a new zest of faith the youths have. At least that's what Kayli Catron, a freshman at Greenville College, thinks.

"It's different with the youth now. I think many of them have become more serious about their faith at a younger age," said Catron, whose father, the Rev. David Catron, is pastor of the church.

"And we have some great youth here who are seeking God with all their hearts, not just in church, but in school, their neighborhoods and at home," she said.

Recently, local Christian band Day 40 helped kick off Wednesday night youth services with an overflow crowd.

Snead, 38, the full-time youth minister at the church for the past five years, thinks a new youth center may need to be built in the future, especially if the number of youths continues to increase at the church.

"We have been averaging 150 youths coming to youth services on Wednesdays," said Snead, comparing it to the less than 60 youths who were coming last year.

He added that 70 percent of the youths' parents don't even belong to the church; most of them come on their own or their parents bring them.

On that particular Wednesday, the youths gathered around the pulpit to get up close to the band, which has an edgy rock sound. Many in the crowd raised their arms and waved them back and forth in the air as the band played.

Snead then started his mini-sermon about Job.

"Horrible things happen to good people," he said holding up his Bible. "I have to make the choice to believe what this book says, even if my eyes don't see it. God tells us to trust and obey him."

All young eyes were glued to Snead.

He was a bit humorous during his descriptive narrative about Job being covered with sores and boils.

"Uhh" and "gross" are heard from a few of the youths.

"Yeah, Job is having a bad month … Even his wife tells him to curse God and die, but Job doesn't," Snead continued.

After his story, he asked those youth who were having issues and questioning their faith to come up to the pulpit and have the youth leaders pray with them.

"Jeremy is really good with us youth," said Joey Babich, 14, whose parents came from the Chicago area eight years ago and joined LIFE Foursquare Church.

He said being at the youth worship service is like being home with family.

Joey and a few of his friends aren't shy about sharing their faith and traveling to the mall in Champaign to spread the Gospel, he said.

"We just talk to people and ask them, 'If they happened to die tonight, would they go to heaven or hell?" Joey said.

Snead said most of the youths who come to the church are from different religious backgrounds: Lutherans, Roman Catholics and Baptists.

"It's not about a denomination, but the message of Jesus," he said.

"There is a spark among the youth that has caught on by being evangelists and going out into the community or sharing with their friends. This generation of teenagers is finding a purpose and calling of what God wants them to be."

Tyler Thomas, 12, didn't have to wrestle with understanding what God wants him to do. His parents came from St. Louis, Mo., to be assistant pastors at LIFE Foursquare.

"I just have a very good relationship with all the other kids here, and the worship is very good," Tyler said.

Casey Barillas, 18, just graduated from Maroa-Forsyth High School and has only attended the Wednesday night youth services for the past three months. She was going to a different church.

"I think this youth group (at LIFE Foursquare) is after God's own heart. It's not a clique of young kids. It's not fake or a front, and everyone is here to learn about God and worship him; so many other churches are just about entertainment," she said.

Barillas said the first day she came to the church, "Rev. Jeremy came up to me and said, 'God has a word for you,' and he didn't even know my circumstance, but he was right on."

Now Barillas feels the Holy Spirit is working through her and putting her faith to work in the community this summer before she heads to college in Texas.

She has started the Kingdom Workers program and hopes to get others involved. Activities range from recording biblical stories on tapes for children to visiting and sharing the word with seniors at nursing homes.

"I know a lot of people who will be sitting around this summer and doing nothing, but I hope they want to be part of something in sharing with others about God," she said.

Sheila Smith can be reached at sheilas@herald-review.com or 421-7963.