Photo by Graham Cullen Scott Stargel, left, and Bret Patton talk during a Young Life picnic in New Market.

Some high school students tossed a football back and forth, others chatted with each other, huddled against the wind.

Just a lot of fun going on at a Young Life picnic gathering on Sunday, which is just what most teens and adults said the organization is all about.

Young Life is a non-denominational Christian ministry that reaches out to middle, high school and college students, according to its website.

But ask a teen why he's involved, and the answer usually includes phrases like "because it's fun," or "because my friends were involved."

"I think the ultimate thing, one of the powerful and great things, is the relationships that are built through Young Life," Linganore High School senior Alex Eckard said at the picnic at Old National Pike District Park. "You look around here at all these people who were involved a long time ago and still have those relationships."

That one of those relationships developed was with Jesus Christ is a subtle, private thought for most participants.

While one of the purposes of Young Life is to introduce Christ to teens who don't know him and deepen that relationship for kids who do, it is done in a quiet, non-pressuring way, volunteer Carol Chaney said last week.

Linganore High senior Scott Grover said he started attending club meetings to have fun with friends from school. He said he knew that Young Life was a Christian club, but that wasn't the draw for him.

He enjoyed spending time with classmates and met new friends from other schools that he would not have met without Young Life.

And then a funny thing happened.

"The message of following Jesus Christ just kind of stuck with me," he said.

Scott said each week's club meeting can go several hours, but the majority of time is spent playing games, putting on skits and just mixing with other teens. Each week, there's maybe 10 to 20 minutes dedicated to a Christ-centered message.

"There's no pressure," he said.

Michelle Stanko, 24, is an Urbana High School graduate and a Young Life alumna. After graduating from Messiah College in 2008, she finds herself back in Young Life as an intern in training to become the area director for Frederick County.

She's working directly with a club that is comprised mainly of teens from Linganore High, though there are members from other schools. And, she said, all are welcome.

Jennifer Stanko, Michelle's mother, said she considers Young Life "a family enterprise." She volunteers and her son, Jim, plays guitar at club meetings. Her daughter, Christy, an Urbana High student, is a Linganore club member.

Linganore 's club even has an international connection. Through Amicus, Young Life's foreign exchange program, German citizen Hanna Scheffels is spending a year in Frederick County. The 16-year-old is attending school at Linganore while living with hosts Dee Ann and Gordon Miltenberger in Mount Airy .

In Germany, students complete 13 years of public education before graduating, she said. When she goes home, she will have two more years to complete.

At Linganore , she's taking English, Algebra II and computer graphics.

"I really like it there," she said Sunday.

Chaney said that Hanna will be able to take her American Young Life experience back to Germany and share it with her peers there.

Because, she said, that's really what Young Life is all about — enjoying fellowship with friends and sharing that with others.

"No matter how long ago someone was involved or where, there's always a connection," Chaney said. "Young Life creates special memories that are there for a lifetime."