Romance Academy Announces New Conference Dates

|PIC1|The Romance Academy, a sex and relationship education programme for teens, has announced two upcoming conferences this year, for Saturday 20 January 2007 in Blackpool, and for Saturday 10 February 2007 in London.

In last year's Youth Focus Day at the CRE, the Romance Academy seminar was the main highlight, with the presenters of BBC 2's "No Sex please we're teenagers" hosting the session. The room was so packed that some attendees had to sit on the floor or listen outside of the room.

Dressed in black shirts splashed with the words "No Sex please we're teenagers", youth leaders and co-founders of the Romance Academy Dan Burke and Rachel Gardener encouraged people to work with them on the initiative, which could positively influence the lives of thousands of teenagers for the better.

According to Gardener, the programmes are not only open to Christian teens - but to everyone.

"We [invite] people who are not Christians to take part in this. And that's risky. But I believe the values that Christ set out can be for everyone - whoever you are and wherever you come from," said Gardener.

One of the teens involved in the "No Sex please we're teenagers" programme, Byron McClean, briefly testified about his conversion to Christianity through the time he spent at the Romance Academy.

"In August, I became a Christian," McClean, 18, said. "Dan and Rachel helped me to know where I am in life and where I want to go... and I learned to love Jesus."

The Romance Academy will hold future conferences, to encourage more churches to engage with the youth.