A few weeks ago, almost ten thousand Christians from nine hundred churches representing thirty denominations gathered in Boston for the thirty-eighth annual congress of Vision New England, until recently known as the Evangelistic Association of New England. The theme of the conference was "A Heart to Know God."

Vision New England president Steve Macchia opened proceedings with a story about his eight-year-old daughter Rebekah who, during a preconference visit to her dad's office, decided to try writing his welcoming speech for him. When Mr. Macchia peeked over her shoulder he saw that she had written in bold, clear letters: "We want you to have your hart (sic) closer to God this weekend. A hart to know God means to love your friends and naebers (sic) [neighbor] like your family."

This call for greater love of God and His children also came from keynote speaker Reginald Terry of Antioch Baptist Church, Omaha, Nebraska. "If we want to know God," he said, "and be more like Him, we must spend more time with Him." He emphasized the importance of gatherings of this kind. In our individual denominations and churches, he said, we cannot reach everybody. "We need one another. It's not the government's job to love. It's the Church's."

"There is one thing the world desperately needs, and that they can get only from Church," said the next speaker, Philip Yancey, "and that is grace. Are we awakening that thirst, that hunger for grace, and are we giving it?"

Mr. Yancey, who lives in Colorado, serves as editor-at-large for Christianity Today magazine, and has written several highly successful books, including What's So Amazing About Grace?

"What couldn't God do with the people in this auditorium!" he exclaimed, warming to his theme. Yet he cautioned people about getting too caught up in the political turmoil in the United States in recent weeks and drew applause when he suggested that there were several people in Washington "who need our prayers right now."

"Why do Christians hate so much?" he challenged. "What's happened to the gospel of grace? We're not here to disinfect the world. We're not here primarily to moralize society around us—although we're pretty good at that! We are called to proclaim God's love for sinners—for the outcasts. The kingdom of God is built not on the pillars of might, but on the strong pillars of grace.

"Goodness cannot be coerced from the top down," he continued. "Goodness grows from the inside—from the tiniest seed. I'm not worried about the future of the Church. It does not depend on what happens in Washington D.C." And he reminded his audience that Christ Jesus had built his church upon a rock against which the gates of hell could not prevail (see Matt. 16:18).

Recent events in Washington were also mentioned by Charles W. "Chuck" Colson, founder and chairman of Prison Fellowship, an organization ministering to the needs of prisoners, ex-prisoners, and affected families worldwide. He confirmed how relieved he was no longer to be "inside the bunkers of the White House," where he had served during the Nixon presidency.

"I don't know what will come out of this," he said, "but I have urged the Christian community to pray for those in authority; not to be quick to judgment; to take no pleasure in other's misfortunes, not even those of opponents; and to hope that people will recognize what integrity truly is—and that is wholeness.

Mr. Colson said he had welcomed the opportunity to lecture recently at several famous universities, including Harvard, about the moral imperatives of our day; but he had been surprised to find so few good questions coming from the students.

Only at a marine base in North Carolina, he remarked, did he find students brave enough—or concerned enough—to ask questions that really mattered. And they came only after the general at that base had commanded, "There will be questions!" That brought the young marines forward with such key questions as, "Which is more important, loyalty or integrity?" And, "Is there truth, and can you know it?" "Too many students," added Mr. Colson, "have never been exposed to moral philosophy."

Earlier in the conference, he had told the Christian Science Sentinel: "Ethical and moral training has got to start in the very earliest years, and among teenagers with angry eyes, like those I face every day in prisons across the country." He emphasized that there are principles Christians understand well that have got to be shared with these young people, especially through mentoring, which the Church is ideally suited to provide. "If not, we'll be the first generation in American history to be held hostage by our own kids. We cannot afford to lose them. This ought to be one of the highest priorities of the Church."

In a plenary session, Mr. Colson issued one final challenge: "How do you recapture a culture?" His own answer was firm and clear. "Not by complaining that, as a Christian you are being discriminated against. You go forward in the love of Christ to overcome evil with good and show your cities transformed lives. The world needs to see the Church being a Church," he concluded. "People need to see that a Christian understanding of reality dignifies the human race, defends human rights and human liberty, and gives a sense of purpose to life. Christians have a wonderful story, and they should tell it boldly."