Sydney Hern, 15, is hoping to give young people a better understanding and appreciation for scripture.

She began a Bible study class for young people ages 12 through 18 on Friday at Glenwood Circle Park to help them understand how the scriptures in the Bible apply to their lives.

Hern said the idea for the class came after attending Mission Fuge, a youth camp in Mobile, Ala., sponsored by Nashville, Tenn.-based Lifeway Christian Resources, a nonprofit organization formed by the Southern Baptist Convention to publish resources for the organization.

According to its website, Fuge “is designed to take students out of their normal routine and place them into an environment that is focused on life-change through relationship with Christ.”

When she returned from the camp, Hern said, she talked to Josh Gee, associate pastor of students and activities at First Baptist Church, where she is a member, and discussed her idea.

“I selected the age group because I feel if a bunch of teens hang out, they’ll be comfortable with each other and we could all play games and talk,” she said. “I thought we could do games first and then talk a little bit and then play more games.”

The topic of the first session was, “Why Should We Share the Gospel?”

“I just wanted to do week-by-week and every week it just progresses,” she said. “Next week it will be, ‘Why we should be obedient to share?’

“I have a couple of verses picked out to go with the lesson to read and explain them and discuss their relevancy to teens today,” Hern added.

She is doing the program alone, but Hern added she is getting help from Bovina Baptist Church and First Baptist Church, which are providing some materials for the program.

The study group meets every Friday from 3 to 5 p.m.

“I’ve received a good response from the community; a lot of people have contacted me and said they’re interested in this,” Hern said. “I have had parents tell me ‘I can’t make it this Friday, will you be having it again?’ I plan to conduct the program for four weeks depending on how many people come.”