NATCHEZ — More than five years ago, a group of Christian students at Vidalia High School began a Bible study group called Outspoken in hopes to bring youth together for the purpose of encouragement, fellowship and prayer.

The group meets every Thursday during lunch, and some area churches sponsor a meal and speaker for the students during this time.

“We are just getting the group up and going for this school year, so our numbers are a little down,” sophomore, Caylen Roberts said. “We are trying to reach into the community and show kids in junior high and high school that living a Christian life is not boring and that we love each other as God loves us.

The group has events outside of school as well. They have hosted lock-ins, color wars, skits and ultimate Frisbee games.

“We will have a bake sale fundraiser in front of Vidalia Wal-Mart Oct. 3,” Roberts said. “We had a bake sale earlier in the year and we made enough to help cover our cost for outreach and other activities.”

The students began their Thursday meetings in an outdoor area known as “the quad,” but have since moved into a classroom with a teacher who acts as a chaperone for them.

“We are the generation of tomorrow and I think it is cool that people see what we are doing and they are stepping up to help, junior Jonah Eames said. “We are now a recognized club on campus, but we really don’t like to use titles like that because we don’t want to sound like we exclude anyone.

The group welcomes all denominations to join in the Thursday lunchtime fellowship, and any and all other events held at their churches. All of their activities can be found on their Facebook or Instagram pages.

“We really haven’t had to deal with any negativity,” sophomore Jacob Richards said. “We have a lot of fun and people join us if they want to and if they don’t want to join, they still don’t bash us or talk bad about us.”

All three students agree the structure of the group is appealing.

“When I first started coming, I was glad to have something to do with my lunchtime that brought me into a group of kids like myself who accepted me,” Roberts said. “What was so cool was the ones who were leaders were not bossy or trying to act like they were better than anyone. We were and still are all equal.”

The group is currently working on future outreach plans.

“We basically get together at lunch and eat really good food and talk about our Lord and Savior,” Eames said. “We could be doing a lot of other things, but it is cool to see so many kids doing this.”

Currently, there are three area churches sponsoring the group including Ridgecrest Baptist, Cornerstone Church and Abundant Life Church.

“We would love to connect to more churches and have more support,” Roberts said. “We have had more in the past, but when some of our members graduated, we lost our connection to their churches. So, we hope to rebuild those relationships.”

The group has been through some ups and downs but they all agree God has always seen them though and never let them down.

Anyone looking for more information on the group, or those who wish to contribute should contact Caylen Roberts at 601-870-8940 or Jonah Eames at 601-870-6649. The group can also be found on Facebook at Outspoken Bible Study. You can also send an email to outspokenyouthministries@gmail.com.