- November 26, 2024
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More than 500 teens and parents spent their Saturday night talking about the tough topic of sex, Feb. 2, the Silver Ring Thing, hosted at Palm Coast Community Church.
Silver Ring Thing is a free concert-style youth event run by college-aged students that asks teenagers to begin with the end in mind in their dating relationships.
At the event, which included a parent session, 185 students committed to being abstinent until marriage by putting on a ring. Another 37 rings were purchased by parents to be worn as a reminder to be a support for their child. In addition, 86 commitments and recommitments were made to Christ.
One local teen who has made the commitment to wait for sex until marriage is Haley Emery.
“I learned that waiting is really important and if you don’t, there are a lot more consequences and things you have to deal with outside of having sex that will essentially haunt you,” she said. “I think our students need to know that being pure and abstinent is a great thing and it’s not something to be ashamed of.
Living and waiting for the one that God has for you is one of the best things you can do. It’s hard, but I think it’s going to be really rewarding in the end.”
Not only did the SRT show address the issue of abstaining from sex, it also addressed another touchy subject, pornography.
Matanzas High School Graduate Jake Schroeder spoke to the audience about guarding their minds against pornography.
Schroeder, 22, joined the cast of SRT in August and has been on the nation-wide tour since.
“It’s really cool to me to come back (to Palm Coast) because I get to be part of having an effect on my community,” he said.
Schroeder said the Palm Coast show is special because it brings the topic close to home for the people he knows. But also, just seeing someone on stage that is from the same place you are makes a big impact.
The show, which is usually a ticketed event, was free to the Palm Coast community thanks to the Hallifax Baptist Association, which financially backed the program.
“Partnering with Silver Ring Thing we are able to put the tools in the hands of parents to aid them in having some pretty serious conversations with their children,” said Kevin Lautar, of First Baptist Church Palm Coast, which collaborated with PC3 for this presentation.
One parent who now has those tools taught in the parent session is Haley Emery’s mom, Sandy.
“You need to make sex not taboo in your house so you can talk about it to your children,” she said. “You need to talk to your children about everything that’s out there, be very open and invite them into the conversation.”
