The Mississippi Gulf Coast Youth for Christ is going strong after 20 years and its reach in public schools and in local communities continues to grow, organizers said at a banquet Tuesday night. Locally, the organization works in 19 schools and three youth detention centers in Jackson, Hancock and Harrison counties. Twelve of those schools are in Jackson County. In addition, the ministry is taking steps to open a teen center in Ocean Springs and would like to open one in the eastern part of the county. A similar facility in Gulfport is open to students on Saturday evenings, where students who might never go to church can skateboard, play pool, hang out with their friends and learn about Jesus Christ, Holt said.