No theft. No drugs. No alcohol.

No violence. No, not in this news release!

This time, like many more times

than actually get reported and printed, it's the good kids doing good

things making the news!

It's mission trips. It's music

tours. It's servant camps. It's community service projects. And it's NEWS!

Good news!

All summer long hundreds, maybe

thousands, of teens from our community have been making news ­ good

news ­ with their activities of work and sacrifice. All summer long

almost every church youth group in our community has or will be making

news with extraordinary acts of goodness and kindness for the sake and

benefit of others.

And please, young people, don't

think your gifts and contributions have gone un-noticed because they weren't

splattered across the front page of every newspaper! Those of us who notice

such great things from you have celebrated you and your newsworthy fetes!

Believe me!

As you read this on Saturday

or Sunday, July 21st or 22nd, I know of one particular group of good kids

from our community who are out right now making good news. That's "The

God Squad" from our church, Prince of Peace Lutheran, right here

in Fayetteville.

Many of you have heard of them

or read about them before. My dear friend Dr. Knox Herndon wrote of them

several weeks ago after he and the good kids from his church's youth group

saw The God Squad production in Sams Auditorium. We were all honored that

Dr. Knox lifted them up in such a positive and complimentary way.

Anyway, The God Squad is in

South Carolina over this weekend and into the middle of this week to take

their presentation of the Christian youth musical "Truth Slayers"

to several churches and the good kids who will gather to receive the message

and the "praisentation" (yes, "PRAISE-n-tation"!).

After these programs in traditional

churches, the final "show" (yes, even though it's a "praisentation",

it's a GREAT "show" as well!) will be for hundreds of youth

assembled on the campus of Newberry College in Newberry, South Carolina,

for the Lutheran "Southeast Region Youth Gathering".

This is REALLY a lot of good

kids making REALLY a lot of good news as they both present and receive

a message that might just save their life in this world ­ and will

most definitely save their life for the next!

Splatter that across the top

of your front page, dear front-page newspaper editor!

As I said, this is only a drop

in the bucket of good kids making good news multiplied hundreds and thousands

of times over, not only all summer long, but all year long, year after

year!

One more thing: The other good

news worthy of front page splash are the hundreds (thousands?) of great

adults who give themselves to lead, guide, support, and bless the good

kids so they can accomplish all the good things that make for all this

good news!

Since I have mentioned "The

God Squad" in particular, I also mention their adult director Mrs.

Karen King. What a blessing of good news she is! WOW! For ten years she

has loved and coached these good kids toward great accomplishments. "Mrs.

King leads God Squad" would be a most appropriate headline for a

front-page article in any newspaper!

To ALL of you adults who do

good work leading good kids we declare in headline-size type, "Youth

leaders are declared champions!"

Whatever newspaper besides

this one you read this weekend, I hope you look for articles about good

kids making good news. And if you don't see it with your eyes in black

on white, at least let your heart hear the cry, "Extra! Extra! Read

all about it! "Good kids make the news!"

Start the presses!

[ Kollmeyer is Sr. Pastor

of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on Hwy.314 in Fayetteville. Youth and

families interested in "The God Squad" can come to services

on Sunday or call the church office at 770-461-3403. Visit on the web

at www.popdove.com .]

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