If towns, highways and railroads weave a jacket on the face of a state, then Marion County is the breast pocket of Alabama. Tucked into this pocket are a good dozen-or-so small towns, not unlike countless others in any state you can think of. Life here, as there, tends to be quiet, with few opportunities for entertainment. A trip to Birmingham or Tuscaloosa for "cool stuff" is pretty much de rigueur.

So when a major Christian artist and a national youth leader bring their show to us, it's like Christmas. And in this case, I mean that literally, for the fruit of Al Denson's (and Dawson McAllister's) labor of love has been the birth of Christ in the hearts of almost 100 Marion County teenagers during their Sept. 28 - Oct. 1 visit.

Let me put the impact into sharper focus: the latest census of the county counts almost 4,600 young people under the age of 17. On the last night of the concerts, the official estimate of the crowd in the county high school stadium was 1,300 young people in attendance, although school officials placed the actual figure closer to 1,700. That means one out of every four (or possibly one out of three) Marion County teenagers were at that concert. More than 300 decisions were made for Christ, including rededications, during the four-night event.

Al Denson is a natural youth leader, with his winning personality, sense of fun and infectious music -- a combination sure to entertain audiences. The messages in his songs, however, are weighty and strike deep within the hearts of his listeners, whatever their ages.

Al's transitions between entertainment and ministry flowed easily. He would do a half-hour warm-up concert each night before Dawson McAllister came on the stage. Then, the two men would clown with each other and the kids in the audience. McAllister always played the "straight man", while Denson would go off on a musical joke. Denson's skills of improvisation on keyboards were impressive, and his spontaneous, goofy sense of humor was endearing.

The highlight of this segment of the concert came for me on Tuesday night, when Denson and McAllister impulsively decided to hold an audience talent contest. The winner, Cayte Harris (one of the youth from First United Methodist Church in Winfield), won a chance to duet with Al Denson. They sang "Amazing Grace" together and invited the audience to join them on the last verse.

A mixture of some of his older material with songs from his latest release, "Take Me to the Cross," each night's music was very well received. Two tunes in particular stand out to me. Al taught the above-mentioned song to the audience, and it was very moving to hear hundreds of young people reverently join him on its chorus.

"'Do You Know This Man' captivated us," said Cayte Harris. "This was really an amazing spiritual song that left us in awe of God, of Jesus. But I was impressed by the way they (Denson & McAllister) conducted the assemblies they did in our schools. Even though they were limited in what they could say about the Lord, they struck a good balance in not offending people who didn't know God, yet getting their point across without preaching."

The amazing turnout on the final night, as well as the young lives touched by Christ because Al Denson gave up a week off from touring to join Dawson McAllister in the "breast pocket" of Alabama, will not quickly be forgotten in Marion County . . . or in heaven.

-- by Martia Wilson