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34 JUVENILE DELINQUENCY STATEMENT OF REV. ANDY GRIFFIN, PASTOR, EMMANUEL • METHODIST CHURCH, LOS ANGELES, CALIF. Chairman KErAu\^R. Is that right, Reverend ? Mr. GRirriN. That's correct, at 830 South Herbert Avenue, Los Angeles. Chairman Kefauver. How large is your church and how long have you been a pastor ? Mr. Griffin. My church is located in an area in which my con- stituency belongs to another major denomination, and consequently on Sunday mornings our congregation is a very small congregation— 30 or 40 people. However, we work in and our major ministry is with the youth groups in the community that attend other churches. Chairman KEFAU^'ER. Will you tell us all about it, Eeverend ? Mr, Griffin. That church is located in an area where there is an apparent need for concern for the behavior problems of young people. This is our major ministry. We are only one of the several institu- tions and agencies maintained by the Methodist Church in tliis area. Concerning the recognition, the theoretical, and the basic comments regarding the delinquencj^, I concur with Dr. Lindquist and Super- visor Ford and others who have added their comments. Ninety-eight percent of the teen-agers and young adults that we are working with are members of another major denomination. Of course, financial support cannot come from the very small congrega- tion of the church. For this reason the Missionary Society of our de- nomination and the service clubs of southern California, as a result of lectures I have made in those organizations, ai-e the basis of our financial support. Facilities are very small and in state of bad repair. Private homes, a hospital executive's conference rooms, and county recreational facili- ties furnished the settings for our activities. At the moment I recognize these facts about the youth situation in our area. For one tiling, there is a very significant growth in the kind of group that is not identified with any established agency, pub- lic or private, but rises spontaneously out of the community and be- comes autonomous and entirely gregarious in its own rights. These groups are not anti-authority groups. Actually, they seem to be searching for supervision acceptable to their particular needs. They accept behavior-problem youth and behavior-problem youth accepts them. In other words, this particular group seems to fill a void that I have felt. The kind of group that will accept the kind of kid that is not acceptable in the so-called youth groups, the differ- ence between that kind of a group and the gang group, this seems to be the void. No. 2. The supervisors or sponsors of these groups are being drawn from the ranks of the average citizen. These folks are ready to help but are conscious of their inadequacy in handling behavior-problem youth. A very significant group has developed in the county proba- tion department called the group guidance section. These men, proba- tion officers under the direction of Carl Holton, probation officer of the county, are helping to supplement the efforts of these unskilled sponsors for these groups. To make it very short, it seems to me that the need to help kids that the average citizen wants, has had for some time, is being met by these