A Christian group based in Ohio Township is getting $400,000 in federal money to take its teen sexual abstinence program on the road.

Silver Ring Thing asks teens to take vows of chastity until marriage, with silver rings as a sign of the pledge. Denny Pattyn, the group's founder and executive director, said the group plans to use the grant to spread its road show to other cities.

Silver Ring Thing uses high-tech lighting, video and sound displays, along with comedy and skits, to preach its abstinence-only message. At the end, it asks teens to take a vow of chastity until marriage. Those who take the vow get Bibles and silver rings as a token of the pledge.

The grant -- one of 10 given to abstinence programming in Western Pennsylvania -- is for the coming year, and Pattyn said the funds will be used to expand operations in Pittsburgh and to cities like Boston; Columbia, S.C.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Kansas City, Mo.; Memphis, Tenn; Phoenix; Knoxville, Tenn.; and Denver.

"Our goal is to put 2 million rings on teens' fingers by 2010," said Pattyn, of moon. He said about 25,000 teens have gone through the program so far, with about 75 percent choosing to put on the ring.

Teens can choose to hear either faith-based or secular versions of the group's message, but Pattyn said most teens opt for the religious message. For teens who already have been sexually active, the program includes a message about committing to a "Second Virginity".

Abstinence-only programs like Silver Ring Thing have drawn criticism from groups such as Planned Parenthood, which argue that teaching abstinence without contraceptive information is a dangerously incomplete approach.

But Silver Ring Thing stresses that abstinence is the only sure way to avoid not only pregnancy but also sexually transmitted diseases.

"The big issue now has moved from teen pregnancy to sexually transmitted diseases," Pattyn said. "There is an epidemic ravaging teens now."

He also said the problem is not limited to intercourse: "We have an oral sex epidemic right now," and many diseases are spread through oral sex.

Silver Ring Thing is affiliated with the nondenominational John Guest Team, headquartered at Christ Church at Grove Farm in Ohio Township.

This is the second time Silver Ring Thing has been given government funds -- in February the organization got $700,000 in federal money. Pattyn said previously the program got its funding from private sources.

In a press release announcing the grant, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn Hills, said "Funding for education programs which promote sexual abstinence will help Pennsylvania youth become better informed about healthy alternatives to sexual activity. I believe these important programs will also provide young people with the necessary tools to combat peer pressure, reducing the rate of STDs and teen pregnancy."