The following Saturday was the day that Dylan planned to present the two pledges that he had written to his rag-tag congregation.

He looked out over the small crowd, noting that the usual people were in attendance – Jade, Tyler, Hannah, Leon, Mrs. Carson, Gemma, and Jon Rodgers – along with about ten other people from either Dylan's, Jade's, or Tyler's school who either came off and on or showed up only this once, curious to see and hear a fifteen year old boy preach.

After he had brought the message, Dylan announced, "There is one more thing that I would like for each of you to carefully consider, especially if you're still a teenager, as I see most of you are. Over the past week, I have done some research and written these two pledges." Dylan held them up for display. "One is on the subject of safe driving habits; I call it 'Emily's Pledge', after my younger sister who died earlier this year in a car crash. The other one is concerning temperance and drug abstinence, which I've named 'The Hollis Pledge,'" Dylan inhaled softly. "after the man who drove into the vehicle that my sister was in while he was under the influence of both drugs and alcohol. I would be more than happy to assist anyone of you who would like to sign either one or both of the pledges, and if you have any further questions once you read the pledges, I'll be glad to answer those too."

He closed the service with a prayer.

About ten minutes after the service had ended, Jade, Leon, and Hannah approached Dylan and asked if they could discuss a couple of ideas that they had with him.

"Sure." Dylan shrugged and led them down the mission hallway, to the opposite end of the building and into his office. Once they had settled he asked cheerfully, "What's up?"

Leon looked at the girls and motioned to Dylan, saying, "Ladies first."

Jade looked to Hannah, so Hannah took that as her cue, and, taking a deep breath, started in. "Jade and I both got the same idea when you presented the pledges just now. You were right in thinking that drugs and such are a big temptation for kids in high school…"

"I know; I go to the same school that you do, remember?"

Hannah nodded, continuing on undeterred. "And a lot of high school kids have bad driving habits, so those were good things to have pledges on." She paused. "But there's another big temptation that you forgot."

Dylan cocked his head to the side. "Oh? What's that?"

"Um…" Hannah blushed. "What about the other kind of abstinence – the kind that's not related to drugs? That's a problem for a lot of kids, a lot of good kids even, those that maybe don't want it to be a problem, but they feel like they're the only ones who feel that way, so they give in to peer pressure anyway. I think that it would be a good thing to have a pledge or something for that, something where kids can see that other kids feel the same way that they do about it." She shrugged. "It's just an idea that Jade and I came up with."

Dylan considered this, sitting on the top of his recently acquired desk with his hand propping his chin up and his legs swinging slightly back and forth. "And it's a good idea, too. I really didn't think about that, even though I probably should have.

Give me a couple of days to pray about it, and then we can talk about it again on Tuesday, if that's okay with you two."

Hannah and Jade both nodded their assent, so Dylan turned to Leon, who then shared his own idea.

"What do you think about me creating a YouTube channel for the mission?" Leon asked. "It's easy to do and I was thinking that once I get that done, I could record some of the messages that you preach – like on my phone or something – and put them on the channel. It might turn out to be a good outreach, along with the fact that it's easy and free. So, perfect for us."

Dylan opened his mouth to agree – since it really was a good idea – but then another thought came to mind, a thought that he voiced aloud without thinking. "What if the wrong person sees me preaching?"

"'The wrong person'?" Leon repeated in confusion.

Behind the Carson twins, Jade sighed angrily and rolled her eyes. Dylan's gaze skittered away from the frustrated teen's and the thought crossed his mind to wonder if it was that same guardedly disapproving look from Nathan that had driven David to Christ at the gun range.

Hannah asked, "Can there ever really be a 'wrong person' when it comes to hearing the Gospel?"

"He means his parents," Jade clarified, frustration clear in everything about her at the moment.

Hannah asked him skeptically, "You still haven't told them yet?"

Dylan shook his head, looking her in the eyes for only a moment before focusing on his hands once again. He hated what he had seen in her eyes – hated himself for giving her, all of them really, a reason to doubt him, and thereby, the Word that he brought to them and the rest of the ragtag Newton-Crosby congregation.

"I just need a little more time." He said softly.

Jade pointed out sharply, "That's what you told Pastor Rodgers weeks ago, Dylan. When are you going to tell them? If you don't soon, I wouldn't be surprised if Pastor Rodgers tells them or tells us that we can't use this place anymore. Or both!" She asked, her tone sharpening increasingly, "Is that what you want?"

"No, of course not!"

Jade reigned in her tone, saying softly, "Then I suggest you tell them before long."

Dylan sighed and nodded. "I know. And I will. It's just, I…"

"Need a little more time. I know.

I just don't want to see everything that we've done here go down the drain because our pastor is a liar."

Dylan flinched.

Hannah spoke up softly, explaining, "Dylan, for a lot of kids, this is the only place that they feel comfortable at that also gives them Biblical truths. And they don't deserve to lose that, they need this place." She whispered, "So do I."

"And me." Leon admitted.

Jade added the closing argument, "We've gone too far to have to turn around now; don't make us go back to having nothing."

Dylan nodded, now too ashamed to look any of them in the eye.

"Promise?" Hannah asked softly.

Another nod. "I'll tell them as soon as I can get the three of us sat down together, when an opportunity presents itself. I promise."

Hannah smiled gratefully, and Dylan managed to return the smile half-heartedly.


Sorry if the writing seems not up to my usual standards somehow. It kinda feels like it to me for some reason. And I know that it's an unusual plot (and now an unusually named mission), but please, if you review, no flames. I hope that you enjoy this story! Thanks, guys (and girls)!:)