Now when A.C. speaks to teens he says:

I was a virgin by choice, and I held that decision with honor and respect... Remember - manhood is not defined by how many girls you can get pregnant.

Erika Harold - Crowned Miss America 2003

Ever since I can remember, I've had a commitment to abstinence. I was fortunate enough to have been raised by two loving parents who encouraged me to set high standards, to value myself, and to save myself for marriage. But I grew up knowing that I was lucky and that not every young person had the love and support that I did. I saw many of my peers use sex to try to find that love and acceptance. But instead of being able to fill that void, many of them became teen parents, contracted diseases, and had their hearts broken.

I knew that I had to take action. As Gandhi once said, "You must become the change you wish to see in the world." So when the time came to select a platform for the Miss Illinois pageant, my conscience compelled me to choose abstinence.

I was invited to speak to young women at a correctional facility?many of them thanked me for coming. They said that they knew they had made some poor choices in the past and appreciated hearing how they could make better choices in the future. One young woman even spoke of her desire to possibly speak about abstinence to other young people.

I also organized an essay and poster contest for middle school students, giving them the opportunity to express their views on the benefits of abstinence?One young woman wrote about her friend who had a child at the age of 14 and, by the age of 16, had contracted HIV. She said that she wished I had come to her school earlier because she thought I might have been able to help save her friend's life. As I read the essay, I promised myself that I would never let fear or self-doubt prevent me from doing that which my conscience dictates.

Lakita Garth - Miss Black California

Lakita Garth was named Miss Black California and has been a guest on MTV's Sex in the 90's, Politically Incorrect, The Image Awards, The American Television Awards, Nightline, Sally Jesse Raphael, and Montel Williams. Lakita is also a virgin and encourages other young women toward abstinence. Lakita states: I grew up near a project community in Southern California in which Money Magazine said was one of the worst places in America to raise children. After serving in Korea and Viet Nam, my father died of cancer. My mother, a primary school teacher, was left to raise my four older brothers and me.

An abstinence message wasn't very popular in our community, and she was thought to be old-fashioned for insisting that her children practice self control, self-discipline, and the delay of self-gratification in all areas. We, indeed, were the laughing stock of the community; but the proof is in the pudding; and here's a taste of the results. Of all those who grew up with my brothers in that community, we were the only complete family to make it out.

Moreover, my mother raised a doctor, lawyer, engineer, a career naval serviceman, and I finished college in less than four years. Abstinence is not a "just say no" program that exclusively applies to sex, but a lifestyle that spills over into every aspect of a young person's life.

Extreme Snowboarder Dave Downing

Named one of the top twenty snowboarders in the world, Dave Downing has boarded down some of the steepest mountains in the world and makes big bucks in the process. "It's close to flying," he says. But Dave goes deeper than that. He says life is not just about money and competition. It's also about joy and appreciating the beauty that God created in nature and in human life. Dave comments:

I want people to know that you don't have to be a derelict to be a cool snowboarder? You can have values and be a Christian and still be looked up to? There's so much influence from people who want to party or get into stuff. I don't want to party. I don't want to go to some strip club.

When it comes to snowboarding, Dave advises other boarders:

Just have a good time and be yourself. I think a lot of kids are trying to be someone else - somebody they see in a magazine or on MTV. They're not asking themselves, "Who am I?" I think that's where you've got to start.

Dave also has strong feelings about sex before marriage. Speaking from experience, he says he's learned about regrets the hard way and he wishes he had saved sex as a gift to be shared after marriage.

But he also believes in second chances. He changed his life and made a commitment to save sex for marriage. That's why he and Shannon Dunn, another world-class snowboarder who is now his wife, lived a commitment to purity during the years they dated each other.