The Working Together: Faith-Based and Secular Collaboration to Prevent Teen Pregnancy roundtable on April 29, 2005 brought together 57 persons from local and federal government, and faith-based and secular non-profits, including religious institutions. Participants discussed their experiences and passions for youth development and teen pregnancy prevention work and the importance of all segments of the community working together to help teens.

While there is no inherent reason why faith based and secular organizations cannot collaborate to help reduce the high teen pregnancy rate, heretofore there have been few natural avenues for them.

“Since its inception, DC Campaign has declared that everyone has a role to play in teen pregnancy prevention: parents, teens, schools, community organizations, the government and churches. We know that many churches want to become involved, and some are, but others want to know where to start,” says DC Campaign executive director Brenda Rhodes Miller. “This roundtable will share lessons learned and provide guidance to both faith based and secular organizations,” Miller continued.

A panel of experts and local leaders including Rev. Orlando Bego, Pastor, Upper Room Baptist Church; Mark Farr, Senior Director, Interfaith Initiatives, Points of Light Foundation; and Luis Torres, Project Director, Have Faith in Youth with DC Campaign led the discussion.