At Solid Ground Coffee Shop in Oak Harbor on a Monday night, teenagers are often skateboarding outside and playing foosball inside, or simply hanging out.

They are also there to develop their faith as junior high and high school students participate in small group discussions offered by a local religious organization.

“There’s people my age and people I can relate to,” said 14-year-old Coty Miller, who was watching two of his friends play foosball. Monday evening was Miller’s first time attending a youth group being put on by Youth Dynamics, a non-denominational Christian group working out of the coffee shop on SE Cabot Street behind AM/PM.

About 15 people were on hand during the Monday evening meeting that provided a laid-back atmosphere for teenagers.

And it looks like the program is receiving a boost because Youth Dynamics hired Brian Williams as its new director in Oak Harbor. The position has been vacant for more than a year.

Teenagers started the evening hanging out and skateboarding in the parking lot in front of the coffee shop. Then after some games and activities, Williams gave a presentation about hope before the teens divided into small groups to talk further about the subject.

Near the end of the evening, teenagers broke from their group discussions to play games or talk.

“I think it’s a great place to come and be comfortable,” said 17-year-old Stacey Donnell.

Youth Dynamics is a Burlington-based Christian organization that isn’t affiliated with any particular denomination. It operates the coffee shop.

Williams said he decided to take the Oak Harbor position because of the freedom it offered.

“I just really like the Youth Dynamics philosophy,” Williams said. “You get to create the dynamic of how you want to reach teenagers.”

Williams said there are about 35 students participating in his program. He recruits student and adult leadership and reaches out to Oak Harbor High School.

He plans activities such as a skate trip and a white water rafting trip for the teens. Williams said he wants to work closer with local churches to plan events.

Youth Dynamics is offering tutoring for the teens and participants are helping out at the high school during lunch time.

Williams currently splits his time between here and his home in Monroe, where he previously worked for Woodinville Alliance Church. He bought a house in Oak Harbor and is starting to move here along with his wife, Lisa and their one-year-old daughter, Eden Mercy.

He graduated from Central Washington University in 1996 with a degree in speech communication.

In the next couple of weeks he is overseeing the relocation of the coffee shop because it is trading places with a nearby credit union.

In addition to his duties working with teenagers, he is also responsible for all the fund-raising for the coffee shop and the salaries of any paid staff.

Marketing director for Youth Dynamics and Reachout Expeditions, Jade Allison, said the fund-raising situation is one of the reasons that it took a year to find a new director in Oak Harbor.

The previous director, Mike Unruh, resigned to pursue a career in counseling. He had been working for Youth Dynamics since 1989.

Williams said he spends his fund-raising time appealing to family and friends and trying to garner community support. Naturally, it takes someone dynamic to get the job done.