Sam Pech-Scott and his band mates just put out their first CD – but they’re not looking to become rock stars.

Instead, members of Practice at 5! want to bring a Christian message that will resonate with the growing number of young people who, like them, have roots in Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America – but grew up in the United States and also speak English.

The 10-member local band also has a second aim – using some money from the sale of CDs and performances to aid ministries in Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador, their families’ homelands.

“I think the reason we started this thing is that we realized we had something to offer people in the gifts that God has given us,” says lead singer and guitarist Pech-Scott, 23, of Fort Wayne.

“Yes, we’re putting our music out there, but we’re also trying to connect the people who buy it to a need.”

Pech-Scott, who was born in Cozumel, Mexico, says the group began about three years ago with informal ties among young people who played and sang during bilingual worship services at Fort Wayne’s Amistad Cristiana.

His father, the Rev. Leonel Pech, is pastor of the Presbyterian Hispanic outreach congregation, which meets at the former site of Calvary Third Presbyterian Church at 4500 S. Anthony Blvd. Amistad Cristiana means “Christian friendship” in Spanish.

Within a year or so, the band was asked to perform for fundraisers and regional events, including the Viva Fort Wayne! festival and the “We Are One” Labor Day picnic. Last year, members decided it was time to record and teamed up with Sweetwater Sound.

After about two weeks of recording and help from Sweetwater engineer Dan Ankney, the group released companion CDs – “El Camino Simple” in Spanish and “The Simple Road” in English.

A release party attended by about 200 people took place Nov. 19 at C2G Music Hall in Fort Wayne.

Pech-Scott says the group decided on separate discs instead of combining English and Spanish songs on one recording. He says members wanted to serve a small but growing fan base in Mexico, where little English is spoken.

The separate discs also might have more possibility of play on both English and Spanish-language radio stations, band members say.

Much of the CDs’ music, including the title track, was written, translated or arranged by band members, including Pech-Scott and his brother, Jonathan Pech-Scott, 26, bass guitarist and vocalist.

Their father, who was born in Mexico and was ordained and served as a missionary there, also contributed two tracks.

Pech-Scott’s mother, Sybel Scott de Pech, a trained musician, helped with arrangements and sings with the band, while David Calderon, 52, a church member, serves as pianist.

Other band members are the Pech-Scotts’ brother, drummer Daniel Pech-Scott, 17; drummer Victor Zapari, 21; guitarist Christian Bellano, 16; and vocalists Cindy Cortes-Perez, 16; Julissa Perez, 16; and Genesis Perez, 17. All are from Fort Wayne.

Band members say they decided to kick off the CD with contributions to three causes – a program to start and aid neighborhood Presbyterian churches in Playa del Carmen in Mexico, a vacation Bible school in El Salvador and a shelter for the elderly, Casita San Esteban (St. Stephen’s Cottage), in Guatemala.

Sam Pech-Scott says that while the group doesn’t specifically draw on Latin American music styles, it’s influenced by them. It also mixes in a contemporary Christian sound, with buzzing electric guitars and upbeat tempos and lyrical intensity.

“After we decided to do this, we pushed them really hard, and told them they had to sound so much better. So they really stepped it up and practiced,” Pech says of the band, whose name comes from frequent text messages members sent to each other keeping them on track.

“In the recording studio, they just flourished. They worked really hard,” he says.

Scott de Pech says the band’s lyrics, such as on the title track or “Oh Help Me, Dear Lord, Just to Live” often speak of the difficulties young people face.

She says kids with Latin American roots living in the United States easily can get lost as they try to navigate between two languages and two cultures.

She hopes those who hear and see the band will identify with band members and be encouraged to espouse positive spiritual values common in their families’ homelands.

“That’s a big thing for us because we want them to see who they are in God’s eyes and that there’s a purpose for them – to see their potencial, their potential,” she says.

“Potencial – that’s a very important word in Spanish,” she adds, “because potencia also means power.”

rsalter@jg.net