By day, the large reception hall at the Gateway Christian Center hosts weddings, decorated with fake flowers and filled with partygoers dressed in their finest.

Come Friday night, the room is transformed into Club Gait, a bumping teen nightclub with green laser lights jumping across the dance floor and restless young people meandering in wearing their baggiest pants and tightest skirts. Club organizers hope to provide a safe, fun alternative to the streets, but it may not be as easy as they think.

Club Gait, 4355 Central Ave. N, opened seven weeks ago in response to a January 2005 melee involving 1,500 teens at the downtown shopping and entertainment hub BayWalk. It took police more than two hours to break up the scuffle, which allegedly started with a fight between two 13-year-old girls outside of the Muvico theater.

The incident caused an uproar across St. Petersburg and highlighted what teens said was a lack of entertainment and hangout places. Public forums were convened to brainstorm solutions, and more than 2,500 area teens surveyed said they wanted a central place to safely gather.

Club Gait wants to be that place, although police fear a drug-free, alcohol-free club may not attract the right crowd � the teens that are drawn to the energy of the streets and need to defy events that smack of authority.

The club is being run by Maurice "Mr. Moe" Evans, a lay leader at Countryside Christian Center and a local concert promoter. Evans had been contemplating opening a teen hangout for years; the voices he heard at the forum � especially from young people he works with through church � confirmed that it was time.

"They really wanted a place to call their own," said Evans. "To have fun, be safe and be themselves, regardless of what that meant, how they talk, how they dress."

Evans hooked up with Gateway Christian Center's Pastor Joe VanKoevering and his wife, Kaye, who also saw a need for a safe teen haven. The church put up money, the club secured sponsorship and $50,000 later Club Gait is in full swing. The name for the club came as a suggestion from a member of the church's youth group, and signifies the way one walks, an important ideal in Christianity.

According to the club's Web site, as many as 300 teens from across the Tampa Bay area convene on the club, which is open Friday from 9 p.m. to midnight for 14- to 18-year-olds. But on a recent Friday, just 30 teens ventured to the club throughout the night.

George Kajtsa, public information officer for the St. Petersburg Police, said clubs like these offer and important, and safe, alternative for kids � if they are utilized. But Kajtsa said he worries that teens police worry about the most won't be drawn to such a straight-laced event.

J.A. Booker, a St. Petersburg psychotherapist who specializes in working with youth, said teens are in the process of finding themselves, which often includes rejecting adult or parent-approved hangouts such as Club Gait. However, Booker said if organizers properly sell the club as a place teens can interact without being babysat, it could be a successful venture.

"It's almost like the typical high school," Booker said. "The average parent drops their kid off thinking they have a pretty good idea of what's going on, but really not having a clue about what's going on day to day. For kids, school is almost an oasis away from their parents, so it's possible to pull off a social situation that both parties would be happy with."

Evans has worked hard to promote the club as a lively venue, and to disguise the church's meeting space. Windows are blacked out with heavy curtains, strobe and black lights replace fluorescent bulbs and hip-hop, rap and pop music videos play on a large TV screen suspended from the ceiling. In an outside patio, DJ's blast reggaeton music, which greets teens as they enter through a series of metal detectors and security checks before plunking down $10 each.

But it's too early to tell if the club will draw a critical mass that makes it the place to be on weekend nights.

Cruising around BayWalk with his friends on July Fourth, 15-year-old Jermaine Anderson of Pinellas Park said he hadn't heard about Club Gait, but was willing to "check out anything once."

"Who knows, it could be bangin'," said Anderson, who usually spends his free time walking around downtown St. Petersburg or playing video games at friend's homes. "It's about word of mouth. The more word spreads, the more kids'll show."

Evans and other organizers know they have a big challenge ahead of them. They know that crowds will be the ultimate determination of success.

How do you attract teens to a club that is run by a church? Just how fine is the line between secular entertainment and Christian values? How can you minister without pushing away the very people you want to attract?

Evans is quick to point out that Club Gait is not a Christian club and perhaps doesn't attract many Christian youths, though the church ultimately hopes the club serves not only as a draw to keep kids off the street, but to draw them into the faith. Admission is free if teens attend a Friday night youth ministry before the club opens.

And the club's rules are clear: DJs play radio-edits of songs to keep them clean; hats, head-coverings and dirty dancing are banned, as are alcohol and drugs; security guards and police patrol the grounds.

Those restrictions might not appeal to nonreligious teens, club organizers say. At the same time, the secular nature of the dances might prove an equal turnoff to Christian teens.

The trick, Evans said, is offering entertainment that appeals to both groups, and to those in between. He thinks he has that formula, even if it's not perfected - yet.

The secret, Evans says, is to give teens freedom, with parameters. To listen, to realize they are in a transition period of their lives, to recognize they may have problems, to understand that being a kid today is different than it was 30, 20, 15, even 10 years ago.

"Young adults are just trying to find their way, but there is nothing for them. That's why they get in trouble at BayWalk," Evans said. "It's not designed for young people. ... It's a convenient place to congregate, but every adult who passes by give them a funny look and eventually that tension kind of erupts."

Craid Sher, president and CEO of the Sembler Co., which owns and operates BayWalk, said though well-behaved teens are welcome at the shopping center, it's nice to have alternative hangouts in the community. This is particularly important during the summer, when teens have more free time.

Bernard Butler, the youth minister at Gateway Christian Center, said the club allows teens to play without having unrealistic expectations placed on them. At the very least, the club gives teens a place to go; at best, it gives the church a chance to attract those most in need of guidance.

"We've got to get them here before we can get them there," said Butler, who hopes to bolster youth group attendance via the club.

To that end, Evans has secured a number of business partners and sponsors, including radio station WILD 98.7, but wants more so he can bring in bigger-name live bands. The club features many local performers, but Evans wants to attract national groups, which he says will in turn bring a bigger crowd.

Eventually, Evans hopes the club will move into its own facility, one that could hold 1,200 teens, expand its hours and offer daytime services, such as a computer lab and coffee shop.

But first, he has to get more teens in the door.

Interested in more? Click here to see the multimedia project, "Teen party," or click here to see the related story, "Friday night at Club Gait."

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