New Youth Center Brings Together Las Vegas Community

Las Vegas community members add finishing touches to new youth center. Photo courtesy of Rev. Doo.

“We had a garage full of items and not enough space for all the youth in our community to come together,” says FFWPU National Vice President, Rev. Ken Doo, who is senior pastor of the Las Vegas Family Church. “Now we see more of our young people getting involved in activities together at our new youth center, and we feel an inspiring atmosphere.”

The Las Vegas community unveiled a new youth center in April — transforming a four-car garage of True Parents’ former residency, the Cheon Hwa Gung, into a primary hangout for everyone. True Mother  recently repurposed the house into a Cheonbo Training Center branch in the US, as she emphasized the importance of fostering a spiritual revival among young people and across the nation.

“The garage, which was used for storage, was renovated for our young people to feel the community cares about them,” says Rev. Doo. “True Mother’s main purpose is to develop greater spirituality among the younger generation, and this new center is a place for building those connections and bonds with one another.”

Community members worked together to renovate, holding a yard sale to empty out the garage, installing new flooring, and decorating the space. “Now our young people come and play games and socialize,” says Rev. Doo. “We’ve had people playing board games, both youth and elders competing against each other, and it’s so wonderful to see.”

Rev. Doo says the center is also a way to attract more young people who pulled away from the community and to personally connect with Pastor Jonathan Jesper.

“Our youth can learn from Jonathan and create new opportunities to grow together,” says Rev. Doo. “He is well respected among the young people of our community, and I really appreciate his love and commitment toward our youth.”

For Pastor Jonathan, a young Unificationist who runs his own business, the new center is an integral component of a much bigger goal.

“Our top priority is to help our community feel loved unconditionally,” he says. “We don’t put expectations on them. We want our holy community to feel God’s love.” He believes this, in turn, will create a thriving community.

“We have poured tons of money into outreach events, but we rarely make that same investment into our youth,” says Pastor Jonathan. “If our own young people aren’t supporting activities, that is an issue and not a sustainable model. So we’re investing in many areas of our community. If you have ‘crops’ of love, and people feel loved, they will naturally be witnessing and outreach won’t be an issue.”

Pastor Jonathan says the Las Vegas community consistently averages well over a hundred attendees every Sunday service — and most people are under age 35. In just a short amount of time, he has also seen the effects of the new youth center take hold.

“We have seen Sunday service increasing, more tithing and engagement, as well as young people who previously weren’t involved in anything but are now participating in different things,” says Pastor Jonathan. 

Both pastors agree that the greatest step for them in reviving spiritually is establishing a community abounding with love. “We have developed many initiatives to do that,” says Pastor Jonathan, “and the youth center is an important part of it.”

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