André Kole called for the bravest man in the Seattle-area audience to stand up. A young teenage boy popped up out of his chair, and André waved him on stage. The boy's bravado dissolved as an assistant rolled out a small guillotine.

As Don't Worry, Be Happy, sung by Bobby McFerrin, filled the McNight Middle School gymnasium, the boy knelt down, sticking his hands and head through holes in the wooden prop. Sweat clung to the young boy's brow as he awaited the dropping of the blade. Whoosh! The boy scrunched his neck and shut his eyes. After a thud, he opened them, shook his head and looked up, relieved that his head remained intact.

"Thanks for putting your neck on the line," André said as his assistant helped the dumbfounded boy stand up. The audience roared.

For the past 36 years, André Kole has used such illusions to entertain audiences in 76 countries. During each show, the 63-year-old Arizona native clearly presents the gospel. This is why Highlands Community Church in Renton, WA, has hosted him five times in the past 10 years. Mike Smith, pastor of outreach at Highlands, brought André in to create an opportunity for local believers to safely stick their necks out for Christ.

"If I could be known for anything at Highlands," says Pastor Mike, a former Campus Crusade staff member, "it would be that I was the person who helped the church share its faith. We bring in André Kole to create a climate of evangelism. Many churches do events that take so much manpower they don't have time and energy to spend with nonbelievers. It takes minimal effort to host him, and our statistics show his outreach has the highest percentage of decisions to receive Christ."

Beyond seeing people come to Christ at André Kole's performance, Mike likes to watch God build leaders in his congregation. He challenged Art Eastman to stick his neck out by coordinating the evangelistic outreach. Although the retired Boeing engineer had led a platoon in the Korean War and trained a unit that went to Desert Storm, heading up this outreach was new territory. "Coordinating André Kole was my biggest adventure in the church yet," says Art. "The night of the event I was nervous and had 33 people come to do various jobs."

One of those who helped usher, Scott Stewart, had fond memories of a past outreach. Scott remembers being invited to André Kole by friends at a time when he and his family were searching. "The message hit me right between the eyes," says Scott. "My wife got hooked up with a group of women and the event brought us into the church."

This time around Scott and other volunteers looked to Art for direction. Art could easily give it, too, for André had sent a packet of information to walk him through the steps of a successful event. It included everything from choosing the location of the performance, promoting the show and setting up the room beforehand.

"We're often told by churches that even if they didn't see anyone receive Christ," says André, "it would be worth it to them to involve people and see the unity that develops. We make it easy for Christians to do what they're supposed to do."

	Personal Connection | After the show, Jared Huddleson (foreground)and two friends crowd around André Kole.

Mike helped by communicating his belief that evangelism is everyone's responsibility, not just the pastor's. He challenged his congregation with his "you/who" philosophy: "You're coming; who are you bringing?"

The Highlands congregation caught on. Rich Sims stuck his neck out at work by giving away tickets at the grand opening of his son's new convenience store. As people streamed in to check out the store, they munched on hot dogs, read posters advertising André Kole and accepted tickets as door prizes.

In addition, Rich, who manages the grocery-store inventory and employees, gave tickets to all the workers and their families. The 54-year-old elder at Highlands even provided time off and worked the night shift so they could go.

"At Highlands we've been taught to talk with those in our lives who don't know Christ," says Rich. "God has put me here and it's exciting to see what He's doing in our community."

This excitement spread even to the children at Highlands. Jared and Amber Huddleston stuck their necks out in their neighborhood by inviting friends as they pedaled their bikes around the cul-de-sac outside their home.

"Want to come see a magician--André Kole--with us?" asked 10-year-old Jared.

"I'll have to ask my mom," said Andrew.

"Me too," said Sean.

"Do we have to pay?" asked Kimberly.

"No," said 7-year-old Amber, "we already got tickets."

The next day, Jared and Amber's mother, Tricia, followed up her children's invitation by telling Andrew, Sean and Kimberly she needed a firm commitment by the end of the week or she'd give the tickets to someone else. By the weekend, three excited children had agreed to go. Kimberly's brother, Anthony, wanted to go as well, and felt disappointed there were no more tickets.

On the night of the show, Andrew came to the Huddlestons' house two hours early. But Sean couldn't go. So Tricia's husband, Garth, zipped over to Kimberly's house. Jared raced to the door yelling, "Sean's not coming, so there's room for you!"

"Oh, boy!" shouted 10-year-old Anthony, scrambling out of the house.

While some Christians don't share the children's enthusiasm for magic, the Huddlestons knew that in addition to the performance, André Kole would present the gospel. This show was no exception. Of the more than 600 who attended, 77 indicated decisions to trust Christ. Three of those sat in Tricia Huddleston's front yard four days after the performance. Andrew, Kimberly and Anthony gathered around her and speculated how André did his tricks. They all pored over the book he had given them.

Book with a Twist | For those who indicate a decision to receive Christ, André Kole autographs a copy of his book Tricks & Twists, which explains illusions such as making a coin disappear.

"How'd you like the show?" asked Tricia.

"It was cool!" said Anthony.

"What did you like best?" asked Tricia.

"When he was floating in the air," the kids yelled in unison.

"Do you understand the decision you made?"

"Some of it," said Anthony.

Tricia handed out bracelets with colored beads to the children. She walked through each bead, explaining the gospel through the colors. Then she gave them a New Testament and showed them how to look up a verse. She encouraged them to read the book of John first. "Who's John?" Anthony asked.

Then Tricia told the kids how she had trusted Christ when she was 27. She gave them a copy of the JESUS video and encouraged them to watch it with the rest of their families. Then Kimberly and Anthony's mom called them for supper, and the kids scampered home.

The Huddlestons stuck their neck out with their neighbors. Rich Sims reached out in the workplace and Art Eastman rose to the challenge of coordinating the entire event. As a result, more than 77 people in the Seattle area have begun to follow Jesus.

It's more than magic; it's a miracle God does wherever André Kole goes.

To bring André Kole to your community, call 1-800-234-9549 or check out his Web site at www.andrekole.org.