A youth praise band is tuning its instruments and setting the stage for a conference that will minister to area youth and other community members.

Refuge from the Edge, a youth praise band at Second Baptist Church, will host its second annual youth conference at the church Sunday night, from 5-7 p.m. The band will perform a mix of Christian contemporary and old hymns, ministering to not only youth attendees but also those of older generations. The event is geared toward middle school, high school and college-age students, but all ages are invited to attend, according to Jay Petty, youth director at the church.

“We’re trying to find a happy medium of being able to minister to the youth, but we don’t want to exclude anyone so we have some older hymns that will appeal to the older group,” Petty said. “(The youth) wanted to use this as a ministry and outreach to the community.”

Petty said the band, made up of 12 young church members, got its start from experiences they had at camp and have since held its inaugural youth conference, toured at area nursing homes and churches and have even been leading praise and worship at Sunday morning services, something that has served as a way to involve them as active members of the church, according to Petty.

“The thought process behind what we’re doing is the kids just love playing music,” Petty said. “But also to get them involved in the church. Why wait to get them involved? We need to get them involved sooner and quicker in the church process. We don’t want them to wait until they’re young adults, or even older adults, to be active members of the church.”

The performance will be followed by a one-hour period of fun, food and fellowship, according to Petty. As to inviting other churches to the conference, Petty thinks it’s important for the teens to mingle and fellowship with one another, he said.

“We want to be able to show other youth and teenagers that you don’t have to wait until you’re adults to get involved (in church),” Petty said. “Our kids just really want to be able to minister to area teenagers. The majority of (the teenagers) are from local schools. For them to be able to stand up within their peer communities at the schools, and say, ‘Hey, I do believe in God and worship Him and go to church regularly,’ it’s a positive influence on other teenagers, also.”

The band’s name was created using scripture, specifically Psalm 73, Petty said.

“When we got into (the scripture), we picked it out,” he said. “God saves us from the edge of the cliff and helps us endure, and he is our refuge so that’s how it kind of came to be the name of the band.”