The Young Life Victoria's home renovation and design tour in Canada has become increasingly popular in the past 16 years. This year, the tour is set for April 22-23.

"This tour is great because it allows us to spend less time fundraising and spend more time with kids and building relationships with kids," said Young Life area director Rob Priestly.

Having been operating in Greater Victoria for almost 40 years, Young Life currently has active groups in Mount Douglas, Reynolds and Oak Bay high schools.

Bill Okell, committee member for Young Life Victoria and spokesperson for the home reno and design tour, comments: "Now we have far more variety out there in the Christian end of things," Okell said. "Now you have Youth for Christ, you have the Alpha programme and the churches are far more predominant than before in working with young people."

While they may not be professionally trained in crisis counselling, Priestly said, Young Life volunteer leaders often provide ears to listen or a shoulder to cry on for youth dealing with such serious issues as drug or alcohol problems, teenage pregnancy or family matters.

"In Young Life, kids are welcome, regardless of faith or financial situation," he said. As to whether teens are turning more to organized religion and groups that espouse so-called "Christian" values, Priestly took a different tack.

"I wouldn't say that Christianity is either popular or trendy, but there is an understanding that kids are more spiritual, I would say that is very true," he said.

Tickets for the home renovation and design tour are $25 each and are available at all four Cloverdale Paint and Paper locations, The Finishing Store, Christian Books and Music, Victoria Specialty Hardware, Rona Bay West Hardware, People's Drug Mart in Shelbourne Plaza and others.

Money raised through the tour helps fund programmes that involve area teens in weekly recreational activities locally, plus events ranging from ski trips and skateboard camps to the group's major summer outing to its Rockridge camp near Princeton. It also helps pay for the training of leaders and administrative facilitators.