Liz Maschkywitz has been a part of Metro Ministries in Brooklyn, New York for nearly 10 years. Seven months ago, Liz and her husband, Simon, became the church's youth pastors. Metro Ministries is one of the most unique churches in the country.  The church has the largest Sunday School in the world, reaching over 23,000 inner city children each week. 

Liz and Simon recently took a group of teens to Youth Quest in Daytona Beach, Florida.  Four of the teens participated in the Fine Arts Festival.  "Youth Quest... helps us to let them see that there are people that have the same heart, same passion," said Simon.

Youth Quest is expensive, and many youth groups find creative ways to raise money.  But for Metro teens, raising the money to attend can seem like an insurmountable challenge. Most come from poverty-stricken homes.  "They don't come from families that can just give them [money]," said Liz.  To ask each teen to pay for the entire cost of the trip would have been impossible. Instead, each person was instructed to raise $250.  How did they do it?  A little creativity and a lot of hard work!

The youth group had several fundraisers.  Iwanza McMorris, a junior who won the Omega Female Vocal Solo division, paid her way selling lollipops.  The group also put on a bake sale.  Several of the girls got together and baked 10 cakes for the fundraiser. 

But it didn't stop there. They sold t-shirts. Their church took up an offering.  Their district took up an offering.  Some of the teens even took on last minute jobs to raise enough money to go to Florida.  "They really did work their hardest," said Liz.

For these teens, spending a week at the beach, interacting with teens from across the country, is a well-deserved reward.  Despite their inner-city upbringing, they are one of the best-behaved groups to attend. "It's exciting to be able to know that what they go through at home...99% of them didn't grow up in Christian families...[that]we can really trust these kids, and they really do try their best."