TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Naming God as their inspiration, a Tucson group of Christian teens is roaming the city - and soon the world - with dancing messages of sexual integrity.

The group called BreakDown began as a sexual abstinence ministry with about a dozen young people five years ago. BreakDown now has 45 local dancers and actors, plus fledgling groups in 12 other cities, including Phoenix, Chicago and Indianapolis.

On July 14, BreakDown will travel to Kampala, Uganda, where it will connect with a pastor and try to educate Ugandans about finding God and waiting until marriage to have sex.

Though they will not be promoting the use of condoms, group members hope their message, which is also anti-abortion, will help reduce the spread of the HIV virus that causes AIDS.

Wearing street clothes of ripped jeans and T-shirts, BreakDown teens present fast, slick dance numbers of mostly choreographed hip hop with some break dancing.

Their programs typically include high-tech sound, lights, dramatic skits and contemporary Christian songs with lyrics such as, ``This luv I got you'll never get without a wedding ring.''

``It's like this team has brought me closer to God. We're all very educated about abstinence _ we know what God wants us to do and what we want for our lives,'' said Amanda Porter, 18, a BreakDown member who recently graduated from Mountain View High.

Started by a University of Arizona graduate, BreakDown has performed in eight Tucson-area schools -seven of them public schools - and at many other local events, such as National Day of Prayer.

Members discount critics who say that promoting virginity without talking about contraception can lead to riskier sexual behaviors.

``The name BreakDown has a lot of meanings, but one of them is breaking down and exposing society's lies about sex, love and marriage. My vision is for young people to view abstinence not just as a realistic option but as a cool option,'' said Aimee Short, BreakDown's 26-year-old executive director and founder.

Short's paying job is director of the Sexual Abstinence Values Education Program for Crisis Pregnancy Centers of Tucson, where her mother also works, and where Short said she practically grew up.

Crisis Pregnancy is a Christian-based program with a mission of dissuading women from having abortions. BreakDown is considered a ministry of Crisis Pregnancy, but Short stresses that when the group goes to public schools, the message is strictly secular.

``We do what's appropriate for the situation,'' she said.

``It's not about what you can't do - it's about what you get. We actually don't even use the word 'abstinence.' If you have sex what do you get? You could get pregnant, you could get a sexually transmitted disease. What do you get if you wait? True freedom.''

She's heard teens cheer for the group's presentations, but she's also heard sneers.

``Faith is what keeps us going - it carries us through the highs and lows,'' she said.

Last year, BreakDown received a $25,000 grant from the state's Department of Health and Human Services and this year is considering applying for federal funding available for abstinence-only education.

But critics of abstinence-only programs, including Planned Parenthood, argue that such programs often force-feed students religious ideology that condemns homosexuality, masturbation, abortion and contraception, and in doing so, endanger students' sexual health.

In the long term, urging teens to make virginity pledges could undermine the use of condoms and other contraceptives when they do become sexually active, said Patti Caldwell, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southern Arizona.

Caldwell said an abstinence-only dance and theater group does not provide people with all the age-appropriate, medically accurate sex education they need.

But Short said her group isn't afraid of talking about condoms. She tells teens, for example, that condoms have a 2 percent to 4 percent failure rate, which they could easily figure out means that condoms work most of the time.

BreakDown has one simple message, and it's not about contraception, she said. It's a message that many of the teens are taking to heart.

Said 19-year-old Ben Lopez, BreakDown's dance director, ``I graduated from Sunnyside High School two years ago, and I know lots of people my age who have already had babies. That's why I don't have sex.''

``I want to be married by the time I'm 23. And I want to have lots of children. Hopefully, the person I marry is waiting, too.''