Sometime back newspapers carried a story of a young fellow named William who was a fugitive from the police. The teenager had run away with his girl friend because his parents had been trying to break them up. What William didn't know was that an ailment he had been seeing the doctor about was diagnosed just before his disappearance as cancer. Now, here was William doing his best to allude the police lest he lose his love, while they were doing their best to find him lest he lose his life. He thought they were after him to punish him; they were really after him to save him.

William is representative of every man whose guilt tells him that God is after him to straightjacket him in this life and torture him forever. Jesus went out of the way to correct that impression. He said, "God didn't send Me into this world to condemn it, but to save it" (John 3:17). The Bible says, "There is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).

There are no guilt trips for the sinner in Christ. There are no anxiety feelings for the sinner in Christ. There is no hell on earth and no hell in eternity for the sinner in Christ. Christ is relief for the sinner from yesterday's guilt, today's pressure, and tomorrow's fear, and we need to share that Good News now with people who are lost and hurting.

Nine years ago I moved into my home here in Denver and Anthony moved into his home next door. We became friends. Anthony was an Irishman and Catholic, but was not doing that well spiritually. At first he didn't want to talk about it. He was frustrated. But slowly, over time, we began to talk about churches and then about Jesus. Not long after that Anthony and his wife showed up in church. Anthony fought cancer the last few months and on April 22 he died. I'm grateful for having played a very small part in bringing Anthony and Jesus together.

The lost and hurting people are here; the healing Christ is here; and we have the privilege of bringing the two together, together now, together forever! Make it your business this week and every week to try to bring someone and Jesus together. That's one of the big reasons why He leaves you in this world. (A Christian law officer made up a little print-out called, "Know Your Rights." I've used it occasionally with good results.)

Brian and Jason are seasoned members of Olive Branch Church. They were discussing the lack of growth their church has experienced over the last three years, while they sipped their favorite coffees at Starbucks. Suddenly, the conversation turned from generalities to the very specific.

"I've always felt that if you attract and keep the youth, you'll get the whole family," reflected Jason.

"It's interesting you bring that up," responded Brian, a father of two teenagers. "I've been wondering about how effective Eric is. I mean, as Youth Director, what does he do all week? He's taken the kids on a couple of trips, and he has that Sunday night thing he does with the high school students, but what else? Ever since my son, Brett, became a senior, he hasn't attended youth group at all."

Here are some of the contemporary challenges Eric is facing as a Youth Director: I-Pods, cars, jobs, grades, The Simpsons, the multiplex theater, Blockbuster, cell phones... and, yes, Starbucks!

The real issue, however, is perhaps what ministry focus the church may have on young people before all of these distractions compound the complexity of their lives. Many churches are recognizing that the traditional target of youth ministry focused on young adults, 12 to 18 years old, must shift to younger children. You want a better youth group? Grow one, by focusing on children.

Focus on these issues:

1. Ministry dynamics that used to be targeted for junior high and high school youth are now the focus of children five to twelve years old.
2. If you perceive youth ministry as important, you need what is referred to as a "farm club" to baseball. Most churches call this a children's ministry.
3. Don't fire Eric. Hire his wife, Rachel, as a director of children's ministry.
4. Tie together children's ministries (like Vacation Bible School, Sunday school, midweek ministries, children's music ministries, children's church, sports for children) and parenting ministries for their parents.
5. If your church can't afford a full-time children's minister, hire one part-time. Can't afford that? Start the position with an energetic volunteer.
6. Provide opportunities for young adults in high school youth ministry to model Christian life to the children. For example, let the high school youth provide the worship team for children's church. That way the children with musical gifts are the "farm team" for the future high school worship team and the high school youth worship team is the "farm team" for the future contemporary worship service for your church.

The best way to develop an effective youth ministry is to grow one, starting with the children. Do this with all the ministries and your church is more likely to grow!

Dr. Kent Hunter (LCMS) is nationally known as the Church Doctor. You can contact him at (800) 626-8515, or visit his website at www.churchdoctor.org.

Do something different at your church. Have a Sunday evening Gospel Hymn Festival from 6:00 to 7:00 in your Fellowship Hall and use every special instrument you can starting with the piano. Include hymn requests. Follow it with light refreshments and fellowship. Provide childcare for infants up to age 3. Your people will love it. Hit Gospel Hymn Festival for suggested hymns.

We've made one important change in our Attendance Pads, No. 502, and that is to add a space for worshipers to write down their email address. This is very, very important.

We encourage congregations to ask first time guests their opinions about the worship service and the church. We have a sample "First Impression Card" which you can adopt or adapt. These responses can prove to be exceedingly valuable. Why not give this a try?

Jim and Casper Go To Church is a new book by Jim Henderson, a former pastor, and Matt Casper, an avowed atheist, as they visited a dozen churches together. We have difficulty being objective about what guests experience when visiting our church. You can purchase this book from The Barna Group for $13. Go to www.barna.org.

Three weeks ago assailants slit the throats of three employees of a publishing house in Malatya, Turkey, which distributes Bibles. The country is predominantly Muslim. They were found with their hands and legs bound and their throats slit. This is the latest attack on Turkey's Christian community which makes up less than 1 percent of the population.

Mark Galli, of Christianity Today: "Make no mistake: There is no promise of safety in Jesus' call. As He calls us into the frightening arena, he points to the wounds in His hands and side, as if to remind us that we are afraid for good reason. It really is a dangerous world. It really does wound us. Eventually, it kills us."

R. Albert Mohler Jr, Washington Post and Newsweek: "Christianity does not deny the reality of evil or try to hide from its true horror. Christians dare not minimize evil nor take refuge in euphemisms. Beyond this, we cannot accept that evil will have the last word. The last word will be the perfect fulfillment of the grace and justice of God."

If you don't have it, you need it! The Church Copyright License allows you to legally copy from over 150,000 songs for congregational use. Over 150,000 North American churches have it and you should, too. To obtain the Church Copyright License and begin copying music legally, go to their website at www.ccli.com or call them toll-free, 1-800-234-2446.

More than 80 percent of abortion-minded women chose life after seeing their baby on an ultrasound. Let's keep this in mind when doing our counseling.

Here is a great Mother's Day children's talk by Pastor Don, one that will make an impact on all the kids and mothers.

Verse 1 of a moving hymn of praise for your worship service by Dawn Rodgers and Eric Wyse:

Wonderful, merciful Savior, Precious Redeemer and Friend;
Who would have thought that a Lamb could rescue the souls of men?
Oh, - You rescue the souls of men.
You are the One that we praise, You are the One we adore,
You give the healing and grace our hearts always hunger for,
Oh, - Our hearts always hunger for.

Church CAN be different... and we'd like to prove it to you. Next Sunday, May 20th, at 8:15 or 10:30 a.m. begin a new start at a Church that understands the realities of everyday life and knows how to apply the Bible to them. Bring the kids... your relatives... or just come on your own!

We don't expect you to be anything other than who you are. And that includes your kids. No dress code. Never been to church before? No problem! Single, married, young... or wish you were... come on out. Do it Sunday morning. We are (name of church, times of worship, easy directions to follow).

This article is for your church newsletter AND run it as a special ad in your local newspaper AND mail it out to everyone on your prospect list AND as a flyer for your members to give to neighbors and friends. Begin a series of timely messages starting on your target date. OR kick off an OPEN HOUSE on your target date. Be sure the worship service is uplifting... plus all your Sunday School classes. You get the idea.

The late Francis Schaeffer helped us understand that a person's presuppositions determine his theological commitments. The same is true for pastoral counseling: one's presuppositions about the nature and purpose of pastoral counseling will influence (if not determine) what the pastor does in a counseling session.

Here is one of my fundamental presuppositions about pastoral counseling: "Counseling is not giving advice, but asking questions." Even when the issue is an identifiable sin with a specific Bible passage that is relevant to the problem, I presume that a question is a more effective response than a chapter-and-verse answer. A good example of this is Jesus' response to the lawyer wanting to evade the implications of "love your neighbor as yourself." After telling the story of the "Good Samaritan," He followed it with a question, "Who was the neighbor to the man who fell among thieves?" The inquirer couldn't escape the question, but was required to draw his own conclusions about whether he was following God's law.

This leads to another presupposition: "People are more likely to argue with you about your ideas for resolving their problems than they are to argue with themselves." You've heard the saying, "There are two kinds of ideas: dumb ideas, and my ideas."

The effective pastoral counselor doesn't give his counselees the option of arguing with him; he simply asks questions that require the counselee to draw their own conclusions. To be more effective in pastoral counseling, learn to ask good questions.

Dr. Craig Loving is a pastor as well as a therapist in private practice in the Denver area. You can reach him at 303-349-7398 or by visiting his website at www.drcraigloving.com.

"In lower-impact sermons, a majority of preaching time is spent on explanation, sermons that are more informative than transformative. In addition listeners' responses indicate that what's being explained is already known to them. If listeners already agree with sermon content, how can they be expected to change? Successful sermons move believers to action. Rather than merely motivating a desire to be different (for example, 'Yes, I'd like to be more forgiving'), sermons with lasting impact developed practical implementation ideas, proclaiming the power and grace of God to enable that spiritual growth. Whether the action plan is illustrated through stories or specific steps, a call to change is most likely to be successful when 'how to' ideas are included."

An excerpt from Sermons Most Likely to Succeed on page 71 of the May/June issue of Rev! by Lori Carrell.

These five cards sell for $4.75, and they are your May freebie. Just email us with your address and ask for #262.

when they see a Christian bumper sticker:

10. "Look! Let's stop that car and ask those folks how we can become Christians."
9. "Don't worry, Billy, those people are Christians - they must have a good reason for driving 90 miles an hour."
8. "What a joy to be sharing the highway with another car of Spirit-filled brothers and sisters."
7. "Isn't it wonderful how God blessed that Christian couple with a brand-new BMW?"
6. "Dad, can we get a bumper sticker so we can drive like that, too?"
5. "Stay clear of those folks, Martha. If they get raptured, that car's gonna be all over the road!"
4. "Oh, look! That Christian woman is getting a chance to share Jesus with a police officer."
3. "No, that's not garbage coming out of their windows, Bert - it's probably gospel tracts for the road workers."
2. "Oh, boy, we're in trouble now! We just rear-ended one of God's cars."
1. "Quick, Alice, honk the horn or they won't know that we love Jesus!"