The Silver Ring Thing Mythbuster Tour will be making a stop at the Williamsport YMCA Pickelner Arena on Sunday, Jan. 25, from 6 to 8:30 pm.

Williamsport Mayor Gabriel Campana, school representatives, pastors, and members of the press recently attended to a luncheon meeting to learn more about this internationally acclaimed, faith-based program that encourages teens to pledge to abstain from sex until marriage.

The program is being sponsored locally by the Student Ministries Network (a coalition of area youth group leaders), The Pregnancy Care Center, and R.E.A.P. (an alliance of area pastors).

J.C. Andrews, Silver Ring Thing’s promotions director, gave a brief presentation about the concert-style event that will be held in Williamsport for kids ages 12 to 18 and their parents.

“We try to reach them where they are in life, and give them the tools to be successful in living a life of purity,” Andrews said. He explained that the “silver ring” in the program’s title refers to the silver rings students place on their fingers after taking the pledge to remain sexually abstinent until marriage.

The sterling silver rings are available at the shows for $20. Each ring is engraved with “1 THES4:3 4,” a reference to the Bible verse 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4, which says, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable.” A study Bible geared towards teens is included with the purchase of the ring.

Shorter, secular versions of the Silver Ring Thing program will be presented free of charge in some area schools during the second week of January. The presentation is done in the same high-tech, multimedia format as the evening program.

Tammy Lawson, the youth pastor for Hughesville’s Evangelical Friends Church, attended the information session. “I am very excited to see it come to this area. I think it builds character in teenagers and gives them self-respect. I am also excited about the parent workshop because it helps parents and teens to connect (on this issue),” she commented.

Lawson took a similar purity pledge as a young teen and continues to wear the silver ring her father gave her at that time. She believes that abstinence programs like the Silver Ring Thing help teens “reflect on their choices and encourage them to choose to wait until marriage out of self-respect-and respect for their future husband or wife.”

Student Ministries Network representative Lori Staib said that one of the things that makes Silver Ring Thing’s program effective is the follow-up they offer students. Accountability is encouraged through email and sites like Facebook and MySpace. She also said that she hopes that many area youth group leaders will elect to hold the program’s Bible studies created just for teens who have recently decided to choose abstinence through Silver Ring Thing.

“Our mission is to see a generation of students that will stand up against the pressures of today’s culture and make the right choices for their future,” organization founder Denny Patten states in a SRT promotional letter. “We aim to see a ‘culture shift in America, where abstinence again becomes the norm rather than the exception.'”

More information and tickets for the January 25 event are available online at www.silverringthing.com Tickets may be purchased for $5 each online, or for $8 at the door.