Diane White, third from right, of His Hill Bible School in Comfort, leads worship during a recent meeting of His Kids, a non-denominational group for Lampasas-area children. PHOTO BY DAVID LOWE Through hot meals, mentoring, Bible lessons and plenty of hugs, His Kids has given hundreds of Lampasas County youth the love of a family.

Now the family has a permanent home.

David and Julie Laine, who recently purchased the Holiday House, have opened the building at 908 E. Fourth Street to His Kids, a non-denominational organization that serves low-income children and teenagers from Lampasas and surrounding areas. The central location of the building will enable His Kids to reach more families and children, said His Kids founder Richard Williams — whom his youth call “Big R.”

Although Williams said he and his volunteers appreciated Grace Fellowship offering its facilities to His Kids for the group’s Monday night worship sessions, Williams believes the new venue will be more conveniently positioned in the neighborhoods His Kids serves and will enable the program to expand.

Nancy Lopez encourages a His Kids member to sing during one of the group’s recent Monday night meetings. PHOTO BY DAVID LOWE “This new place is going to mean a lot to these kids,” Williams said.

Volunteers plan to install a basketball goal, a washer and a dryer at His Kids’ new facility and to maintain a steady supply of food. Several retired teachers have offered to tutor His Kids participants, Williams said. Mario Moreno and Nancy Lopez — who joined His Kids as 12-year-olds and now are in their thirties -- help Williams run the program he restarted two years ago and also will assist with tutoring.

In addition, office space at the Fourth Street building can be used for His Kids participants to meet with trained counselors who assist the organization.

Decorated with photos of smiling current and past His Kids members, the organization’s new home will be “a safe place” for children to socialize after school, to find homework help and to learn about God’s love, Williams and his volunteers said.

Through an affiliation with His Hill Bible School and His Hill Ranch Camp — part of an evangelical ministry in Comfort — His Kids offers weekly Bible study and Christian worship sessions, and gives youth an opportunity to attend His Hill’s summer camp free of charge.

Diane White of His Hill travels to Lampasas from Comfort each Monday night to lead songs and teach

Continued from page 1 from the Bible during the His Kids meeting, which begins at 5:45 p.m. Several college-aged students from His Hill Bible School also trek to Lampasas monthly to volunteer. The students have built strong relationships with His Kids, Williams said, and many His Kids youth have said they hope to attend the Bible school some day.

“They’re just super-strong spiritual kids,” he said of the His Hill volunteers, “and they love our kids.”

Ms. White, who mixes songs with short teachings from the Bible and statements of her faith in Christ, also has gained the love and trust of the children she meets in Lampasas, Williams said.

“Our kids are just mesmerized by her,” Williams said. “She can really hold their attention.”

Hand motions to many of the songs make worship an exciting experience for many His Kids participants.

“My favorite part of His Kids is praise time,” said Savannah White, 13. “I like to sing.”

Austin Billings, 11, echoed that enthusiasm at a recent meeting.

“I like singing, too,” Austin said. “Ms. Diane is teaching me all the songs.”

After the group sings praise music, His Kids hear Christian testimonies and the week’s Scripture lesson. At the recent meeting, children learned about making God the king of their lives — their “king of the jungle.”

Memory verses — lately, the emphasis has been on Psalm 23 — also encourage participants to learn the Bible. Youth who memorize an entire passage receive a prize, like the wrist band Williams recently gave Kyle “Ray Ray” Moreno.

Williams, Mario Moreno and Ms. Lopez hope to fan kids’ zeal for Christ next summer at His Hill Ranch Camp, where His Kids has taken young participants for years. The volunteers are trying to take 100 campers, which will cost the organization $9,000 to $10,000.

Despite the funds needed, Ms. Lopez said she and other His Kids leaders know God will provide.

“When God has a plan for something, it’s going to happen,” she said.

The five-day camp — which His Hill makes available to His Kids at a greatly discounted rate — gives youth opportunities to have fun and draw near to God, His Kids leaders said. For some participants, the experience allows them to eat three full meals a day for the first time in their lives, Mario Moreno said.

It’s the spiritual food that matters the most, though, he said.

One of 13 children, Moreno works in Burnet as a personal banker for Wells Fargo and credits his college graduation in large part to the support “Big R” and his family gave him. Moreno appreciates the times Williams let him stay at his home, the times he fed him or took him out to eat. Mostly, though, the volunteer is thankful he heard God’s call at His Hill Ranch Camp, where he accepted Christ as his savior.

“Really, that’s the most important thing that has happened to me,” Moreno said.

“God’s there for you,” he added, “and it doesn’t matter where you are — even if it’s a place that doesn’t have electricity or groceries.”

Like Moreno, Ms. Lopez felt God’s presence through the volunteers she met at summer camp and through Williams’ guidance as she grew. The camp at His Hill awakened her spiritually and left her almost without words to describe the love she felt God giving her, she said.

“I’ve never felt so overwhelmed by the Spirit,” Ms. Lopez said. “I didn’t see counselors or helpers. I saw angels.”

Moreno, Williams and Ms. Lopez add quickly, though, that they are no heroes. As His Kids leaders, they see themselves simply as vessels through which God works.

“Nancy and I try to let God work through us,” Moreno said. “We give all the praise to Him, because without Him it wouldn’t happen.”

To help youth follow God faithfully — not just for the week at camp — His Kids volunteers are available at any time to speak with kids, to befriend them, love them, mentor them, Ms. Lopez said. It’s that level of devotion that Ms. Lopez said gave her her first true role models and enabled her, one of seven children, to earn a college degree and find a job as a teacher in the Head Start program.

“If it wasn’t for Big R and all the support he gave me, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today,” she said. “His Kids showed me a more positive direction in life, and I met so many spiritual people from His Hill.”

Although His Kids does not meet as an official church, Williams, his volunteers and the Laines believe the program will connect children — and their families — to “the church,” or the fellowship of those who believe in Christ.

Ms. White encourages parents — some of whom attended His Kids themselves years ago — to participate in worship time with their children, and Moreno hopes to start a series of Bible studies for adults.

“We want to change families,” he said, “and, in turn, we’ll change the community.”

Support from Lampasas congregations -- including Grace Fellowship, New Covenant Church and others -- helps sustain His Kids. The youth, in turn, have developed close relationships with assemblies of Christians in Pearl, in Coryell County. When they travel to Pearl on Sundays, His Kids attend services both at Pearl Church of Christ and at Community Fellowship.

“These kids are just overwhelmed when they go to these churches,” Williams said. “They get so many hugs.”

As His Kids expands and grows comfortable in its new home in Lampasas, that same affection, guidance and biblical emphasis continue to guide the program.

“We try to introduce the kids to the Lord,” Williams said, “and we try to show them a better way to live.”