LEWISTON — The Jesus Party will celebrate its 20th year of ministry on Friday, Feb. 13, at 6 p.m. at its chapel at 291 Bates St. Special treats and a video presentation looking back through the years will be offered.

In the fall of 1993 Doug and Sonia Taylor enrolled into Bible studies and convert classes through the United Pentecostal Church of Lewiston. The Taylors describe the experience as a spiritual awakening that birthed what is known today as the Pentecostal Kid’s Church, The Jesus Party.

The ministry was launched from the Taylors’ home in a residential neighborhood near Bates College in the winter of 1994. The ministry outgrew its space and decided to move its location to an apartment at the busy intersection of Bartlett and Birch streets. With the new location and the exposure, the ministry’s attendance went through the roof, having to conduct two services a week in order to contain the attendance.

For the first two years the Taylors drew attention from area residents, Police Department, Health Department, Fire Department and Code Enforcement. The Taylors’ approach to doing ministry was so unorthodox that everyone seemed to have an opinion about it. The controversy and the media hype brought credibility to the Taylors’ determination to start a much-needed service to area inner-city children.

In 1997 the ministry moved into its permanent headquarters at 291 Bates St., where the ministry resides to this day.

Rev. Taylor looks back at the struggles with the municipalities and finds it rather humorous these days. He has had the opportunity to give the Mayoral Invocation on two separate occasions and the couple was awarded the Spirit of America Award by the Maine-based Spirit of America Foundation.

The vision for the ministry expanded and so did its support; it was time for the ministry to incorporate. In March 2001 the Jesus Party became a domestic nonprofit organization. The Taylors were ordained by Bishop Clayton Alward and received credentials through the North American Ministerial Association on Sept. 22, 2002, at the North Monmouth Full Gospel Pentecostal Church.

In 2009 Rev. Taylor, after the death of his mentor, Bishop Alward, transferred his ordination to the International Fellowship of Ministries based in Bothell, Wash.

The Jesus Party takes the position of pro-life, traditional marriage and the doctrine of creation very seriously. The ministry is known for taking such serious subject matters and current events to a child’s level of understanding in order to create a fun-filled yet thought-provoking Bible-based experience for children.

The chapel is a kid-friendly atmosphere with the decor of a party setting, with balloons, streamers, disco balls, popcorn and hot dog machines. The Taylors use live music, video, audio, drama, and song and dance to convey Bible lessons.

Rev. Taylor said, “The Jesus Party is like a Sunday school class on steroids.”

The Taylors have traded in the church steeples and stained-glass windows for a more non-traditional, edgy type approach to youth ministry.

Rev. Taylor sums it up like this: “”Whether my words stir up a revival or some rebellion, at least my words got a response — 20 years of responses!”