HOMESTEAD — The Rev. Montreuil Milord refuses to lose a generation of young people to drugs, gangs or violence.

Milord, pastor of South Dade Haitian United Methodist Mission here, said the church must become an alternative for young people who hang out in the streets, where temptation lurks around every corner.

Milord is excited about the mission implementing “Empowering and Building Young People–21st Century” because it will help youth combat the peer pressure they face. The program is funded by a $5,000 grant from the General Board of Church and Society (GBCS).

GBCS issued the grant and others recently awarded with funds from the Shared Mission Focus on Young People Initiative. Churches are able to apply for a maximum of $15,000 per year for up to three years. Churches in the central conference [outside the United States] will receive $39,000, and $110,000 will sponsor church projects in the United States. These projects must be designed and implemented by young people.

Milord said the youth at the mission developed the 21st Century initiative and are guided by their youth director. He said they meet every Sunday evening from 5:30 to 7.

“Coming up with what they want to do is having a positive impact on them,” he said. “They are the ones who decided they wanted tutoring after school, and two of them are exploring going into the ministry. So the grant has been very encouraging for the youth.”

The ministry is providing after-school programs, workshops and spiritual instruction.

“I want to get young people more and more involved,” Milord said. “They are the future, those who are coming up now. We want them to have a spiritual life and know more about the structure of the United Methodist Church.”

The mission has about 250 members, and an estimated 25 to 35 are under the age of 21, Milord said. He wants the young people to lay the foundation to have a relevant spiritual life.

“We have a lack of pastors. Maybe this could be a way to encourage our young people to go into the ministry once they learn more about the church,” Milord said. “We can encourage young people to answer God’s call into the ministry.

“The grant is also…a way to keep them off the streets that are filled with drugs and crime after school. We must not lose our young people.”

Robin Joynes, grant processor for GBCS, said young people should not be overlooked.