Brett Durham has cried 10 times in his life. He can count them. The most recent instance occurred when Wesley Voyles, a high-school senior, instant-messaged him on the computer.

"Don't get all weird on me," Wesley wrote to his 22-year-old mentor. "I just want to tell you something, man."

Brett panicked. Uh oh. Wes is going to tell me some secret sin, he thought.

Though a full-time college student at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, ministering to teens like Wes is Brett's life. He directs Student Venture, Campus Crusade for Christ's ministry to teenagers, at Harrison High School in Kennesaw. His passion to see students develop a strong relationship with Jesus makes him a valuable resource for suburban Atlanta's Student Venture.

The now–clean-cut youth leader wore his hair "like a hippie" until early September. The public-relations major cut it so adults would respect him more. About the time he got it chopped off, he also vowed not to date anyone for three months, so that he could focus better on his relationship with God. Two young women unknowingly tested his commitment by asking him out right away, but Brett stood strong.

The extrovert meets with a key group of high-school seniors at Chick-fil-A every Wednesday morning at 6:45. He and four boys gobble down their chicken-platter meals. Then Brett gets down to business.

"How have your quiet times been?" Brett asks the group while he sips on his large coffee. They each agree that they enjoyed good individual times reading the Bible and praying the past week.

Then the leader poses a more difficult question to these young men smelling of cologne: "How is your thought life?" He gazes at each individual.

"Pretty good," the first responds.

Brett turns to another, looks him square in the eye and asks the same question again.

The senior stares back. Brett, undaunted by the silence, keeps his brown eyes locked on the student's.

The high-school senior shifts in his chair, breaks eye contact, then lets out a breath. "Hoo!" he admits. It's an understood confession.

"It's OK to look, but not to . . ." and Brett throws his head to the side to demonstrate a prurient gaze. "Lust is looking again," Brett explains. "I trust that you guys can hear and will hear God's voice. This is something you should do and can do."

Wesley, who also cropped his long hair when Brett did, says, "I'm not a morning person, but I like that he asks me the tough questions because it shows he really cares."

Brett chose him and the other select seniors, including his own younger brother Scott, to meet for accountability because they are the "FAT" kids: faithful, available and teachable.

	Like a Brother | "If I'm feeling down or need help with something, I go to him first," says Wesley Voyles (in the doorway, helping Brett clean up after an outreach).

Two of them assisted Brett with an outreach to the freshman basketball team. The 20 athletes, still wearing their jerseys, crammed into a portable classroom for food, games and a talk. Wesley strolled to the front. He explained how Student Venture helps meet students' spiritual needs. Then he introduced the speaker, Brett, as "the coolest person in the world."

The college senior, who is as animated as a cartoon, defined how they could receive Christ's forgiveness.

Afterward, Brett's mom, Linda, walked in with Wesley and another senior hoisting 12 large pizzas.

"[My husband and I] have a passion that the high-school kids come to know the Lord," she says. "So we do everything we can with Student Venture because they aggressively share the Lord."

Her son is classic Student Venture. The sophomores involved in his Tuesday-night Bible study stem from a basketball outreach he held last year. Ironically, most of the current attendees play football, a sport Brett played in high school. "That's what makes it very special," says Becky Yenser, mother of quarterback Brett Yenser and hostess of the Bible study. "The team's together."

They meet at 8 p.m., immediately after practice. The seven teens greet Brett Yenser's dad and descend to the basement of the upscale home.

"I like what they do. They go downstairs, and I know they are focused on the Lord," says Becky. "Brett [Durham] is someone my son can relate to. They talk about football and about the Lord."

The teens shoot pool, and discuss sports and girls for a little while. Then Brett calls them together. They throw themselves onto fluffy couches and chairs. He distributes a Bible study on sexual temptation. He describes a scenario of a "hottie" coaxing them to have sex. He asks how they'd react to her: "Be honest."

The sophomores are real with Brett. After a pause, they agree that they'd ponder the proposal.

He reaches for his duct-tape—plastered Bible and reads to them 1 Corinthians 6:18. "What is God's plan?" he asks.

"Sex after marriage," one replies.

"Straightforward," Brett replies.

The group discusses why God created sex that way, looking at multiple Bible passages.

"Guys, I've talked to grown men who cry when they talk about having had sex before they got married," Brett says. "You can't go, 'Rewind, delete this scene.'"

Then he leads them to more Bible verses. "Some of us try to hide [our purity]. We keep it on the down low. No, dude!" Brett exhorts. "Stand up for what you believe in. You're the man."

When the study ends, the guys dash upstairs into the kitchen. As they chow on the Papa John's pizza that Becky orders every week, one guy nonchalantly picks up the newspaper. "You got in the paper!" he blurts out. Several of the athletes gather and read the article about the football players—themselves—initiating a prayer event. Those are Brett's boys.

As the guys get picked up at about 10 p.m., Brett gets ready to leave. "Thank you, Mrs. Yenser," he says with a Southern accent.

Then he takes Billy Hall, a non-Christian, home. While driving his white Blazer, Brett talks to the hefty jock about Christ. Billy says he had never really heard about Jesus. Brett offers him his Bible.

Terry Earwood | Northwest Atlanta regional director of Student Venture

Students like Billy are why Terry Earwood, the northwest Atlanta regional director of Student Venture, wanted every high-school student in Cobb County to hear about Jesus. He knew he and his wife couldn't do that on their own. So Terry and his director, Mike Crandall, decided to challenge college students to minister to high-school students.

Brett was one of the first interns in Atlanta. "I saw Brett's heart for God—that's the highest standard," explains Terry. "I also saw how he interacted with the kids. He was a leader."

Now 12 college students serve in the Atlanta suburb. Mike and Terry must constantly cast spiritual vision to the young leaders to keep them operating effectively. "We have to communicate, communicate, communicate," says Mike.

They do. That's how the college students stay motivated to proclaim Christ.

Brett himself learned about Jesus as a little boy. Even before he was born, Brett's father began praying for him. "He prayed that Brett would become a full-time missionary," says Linda. But Brett didn't appear to be going in that direction.

"He was a good kid," his mom recalls, but he wasn't living his life completely for God. At the end of Brett's senior year of high school, Terry spoke at their church. He invited the teens to a Student Venture conference in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Brett's mom signed him up.

"I went," Brett remembers, "to get piercings, tattoos and numbers from chicks."

Something else happened. "God just met me there, dude," he says. "I was running and running, but during the meetings, I listened."

During one of those sessions, he discussed his future with God. "I don't want to be a missionary," Brett declared. "Anything but a missionary." Ironically, before the conference ended, Terry asked him to consider helping lead Student Venture. Surprisingly, Brett agreed.

Now Wesley and another senior plan to intern with Student Venture just like Brett when they graduate. He's passed on his vision to them.

And that instant message that worried Brett?

"Man, I love you," Wesley wrote.

Brett cried.

To learn more about Student Venture or to find the closest chapter in your area, visit their Web site at www.studentventure.com or call them at 1-800-699-4678.

You can reach Jennifer Abegg at jennifer.abegg@ccci.org.