The fact is millions of dollars are spent each year to fill our minds with immoral images, our children with sugar charged & fat loaded foods, and our homes with more stuff to keep up with Joneses, and yet many church youth programs are mind-numbing and church around corner from seminary hasn’t grown in twenty years.

If we want to change course of history, we must learn from past and take strategic steps in present. Appreciative of those who came before, progress will be made because we stay on cutting edge not because we squeeze tightly to tradition. Recognizing too that positive and productive relationships are essential to life of any church, outsiders must find it easier to say “yes” than “no” as they walk by kicking tires. For example, a fifteen-year-old student-athlete must be excited to invite his friends, not embarrassed. While at same time, a forty-nine year old mother of two should feel comfortable inviting her business colleague that recently went through a divorce. The future is bright if we prioritize properly and discard anything that could derail our vision.

Some multi-level marketing programs are legitimate. However, others are illegal pyramid schemes. In pyramids, earned commissions are based on number of distributors recruited. Most of product sales are made to these distributors--not to consumers in general. The underlying goods and services, which vary from car leases to cosmetics to vitamins, serve only to make schemes look legitimate.

Joining a pyramid is a risky proposition because vast majority of participants lose money to pay for rewards of a lucky few. Most people end up with nothing to show for their money except expensive products or marketing materials they're pressured into buying.

If you're thinking about joining what appears to be a legitimate multi-level marketing program, take time to check out everything about program. For example:

What's company's track record? What product does it sell? Does it sell products to general public? Does it have evidence to back up claims it makes about its product? Is product competitively priced? Is it likely to appeal to a large customer base? How much is investment to join program? Is there a minimum monthly sales commitment to earn a commission? Will you be required to recruit new distributors to earn your commission?

Be skeptical if a distributor tells you that for price of a "start-up kit" of inventory and sales literature--and sometimes a commitment to sell a specific amount of product or service each month--you'll be on road to riches. Many times participants spend a lot of money to "build their business" by participating in training programs, buying sales leads or purchasing products themselves. Far too often, their own purchases are all they will ever see for their investments.