The church can be a daunting place for the uninitiated. History and tradition can sometimes obscure the good intentions of the people within. But what has the Church got to offer young people and teenagers? Denis Kigongo - originally from Uganda - leads a project called Impact - which is aimed at young people in Dawlish. He said: "We are a Christian project so we start from a Christian foundation, but we work with anybody - they don't have to be a Christian."
Christianity does form the basis of the organisation, and it is supported by several churches in the area - not just St Gregory's. Denis continued: "Our method of working with young people is that we don't drill them or push them to become Christian - we just want to be a listening ear". "We are like a link between the churches and the young people in the area". With backing from local churches, Denis and co are able to work with young people in the community as well as in schools.  | | Denis leads the Impact Project in Dawlish |
Denis continued: "Impact runs a lot of programmes - a lot of them in the schools." "We work together with the teachers and we run different clubs and assemblies - and really anything that schools asks us to do - depending on our ability and resources." The project has grown out of the South West Youth Ministry (SWYM) movement - which acts as an umbrella organisation to Christian youth groups and youth workers. The vicar of Dawlish, Reverend Jerry Bird, supports Impact and hopes the project will encourage young people into the church. He said: "Impact has been great because it's a real link with the local young people - and it's meant that they've seen the church in a new light". "The kids get to see the human face of the church in the school where they are - some people feel a bit frightened of going into a church." "The church is a big spooky sort of building - but once they've met people from the church outside they're very happy to come in", he added. | 
