By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support local journalism.
Teen ministry gets new director
Young Life Leader mug
Barrett

Two connected teen ministries in Dawson County have a new area director.

Ben Barrett, 26, has been named area director for the high school ministry Young Life and its middle school counterpart, Wyldlife.

Barrett was previously the staff associate for the organization in Macon.

"The time spent at that job helped prepare me for being the area director," he said. "After about a year and a half, I was sent here by the southeast regional office to be the area director."

Barrett said he has been involved in Young Life for "as long as [he] could remember."

"I've been in this for a long time, probably close to 10 years," he said. "Ever since I was in high school, I was involved in Young Life as a kid, and then in college I became a volunteer leader. Then I came on staff after that."

He said that the first thing he noticed about Dawson County was the sense of pride the town had.

"This town is just fun to be around - people that love their community that much," he said. "It's always great to be in the home of Awesome Bill from Dawsonville."

Barrett is originally from Dunwoody and is a graduate of the University of Alabama.

He said he is looking forward to giving Dawson County kids a safe and fun place to meet.

"We want to make Monday nights the place to be for high and middle school kids in Dawson County," he said. "We want to make Young Life clubs great and [I've been] going to the high school and getting to know the kids. We just want to be there for them during this time in their lives."

Meeting times and places for the ministries, which will fully kick off activities starting in the fall, are still being decided.

"We won't really get started until mid-September, so we're still getting times and locations worked out," Barrett said. "We're trying to get an idea for size and looking for what the kids want before setting a permanent location."

For more information or to get involved in Young Life or Wyldlife, call Barrett at (678) 925-7422 or email yldawson@gmail.com.