Our pastor wants to do some things to attract young people to our church, but some of our older members say they like things exactly the way they are and we don't need to make any changes. What would you say about this? — Mrs. A.B.

I don't know exactly what your pastor has in mind, of course, although hopefully he will have the wisdom to be sensitive to all your members. In my experience, sudden and radical changes of any type in a church can be very disruptive.

At the same time, your pastor is to be commended for his desire to reach young people for Christ. Where will any church be in a generation or so if it fails to reach out to youth today? The Bible says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18, KJV). Slowly but surely, a church that is only wrapped up in itself and fails to be concerned about the spiritual lostness of those around it will wither away and die.

But this isn't only a question of your congregation's survival. Reaching out to others—whatever their age—is a matter of obedience to Christ. His command is still in force: "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (Mark 16:15). No person is to be overlooked, and no person is to be excluded.

All around you are people who do not know that God loves them; they may even go through their entire lives without thinking about their need of Christ's forgiveness and new life. Pray for your pastor, that he will be able to lift the vision of your congregation. And ask God to lift your own vision as well, and to make you a witness for Christ to those you meet every day.