The Rev. Dr. H.M. "Harry" Crenshaw, wearing a bright blue blazer and a yellow print tie, leans on a walker as he maneuvers through the hallways of Jerusalem Baptist Church, where he has been pastor for 35 years.

"I'm a little slow, but I get there," Dr. Crenshaw said with a smile. "I've got a lot of friends to help me."

Diabetes and Parkinson's disease may have slowed his body, but Dr. Crenshaw's mind continues to race.

He and his wife, Frances, will be feted tonight in a retirement banquet at the Martin Luther King, Jr., Plaza Amtrak station, and tomorrow Dr. Crenshaw celebrates his 76th birthday.

But the man who has been an ordained minister for 53 years prefers to think about the future rather than dwell on the past.

A licensed professional counselor with an honorary doctorate from Selma University, Dr. Crenshaw has been developing programs for troubled and "at-risk" youth for decades, and his fondest hope is to see that his programs to help youngsters are continued.

"It's the most rewarding thing I've ever done, working with at-risk youths and their families," Dr. Crenshaw said in an interview this week.

Adjacent to his Dorr Street church is the Dr. H.M. Crenshaw Outreach Center, founded in 1982, which has helped more than 2,000 troubled youths and juvenile delinquents and their families. Working with local juvenile courts, public schools, and youth services departments, the outreach programs work to build self-esteem and reverse at-risk youths' self-defeating attitudes and behavior.

Dr. Crenshaw said he hopes that a local college or university will conduct an in-depth study and evaluation of the programs "so that they could be used to help others."

When he first started looking into existing research on programs to help inner-city youths, he said, "I was not able to find anything put together that met my needs. Most people who write books did not have a real understanding of black at-risk youths and children."

He decided to put his experience to work for others by writing A Step by Step Guide for Nonprofit Organizations Working with Juveniles and At-Risk Youths and their Families, a spiral-bound book full of practical, real-world advice.

Dr. Crenshaw also has put

together a multimedia package called Reality Road Map, which includes a videotape, an audio cassette, and a booklet with instructions on how to work with troubled children.

Although he will be officially retired starting tomorrow, Dr. Crenshaw wants to continue counseling delinquent youths and their families.

"I like helping people. I love people," he said.

Among the multitudes who have benefited from Dr. Crenshaw's programs is Faith Coffey, administrative assistant at the outreach center.

She was skeptical when she first came to the center nine years after her daughter, Alisha, had been suspended for 80 days from a Toledo junior high school.

"I wasn't too interested in meeting the reverend," Ms. Coffey said. "But he really made a great impression on my daughter. She was 12 or 13 at the time, and we had been going at it. But he really cared about the kids. He made such a big impression on her that she wanted to come to counseling."

Ms. Coffey, who was not a member of Jersusalem Baptist at the time, said that during one counseling session, Dr. Crenshaw apologized for being interrupted by phone calls and explained that he was looking for someone who could type and answer phones.

That led to Ms. Coffey's joining the church staff and eventually moving up to administrative assistant of the outreach center. Her daughter is studying to be a dental assistant, and her son, Brandon, also went through the center's training programs and is working as a welder.

"The outreach center has changed my life," Ms. Coffey said, adding that she gets "all teary-eyed" when she thinks about Dr. Crenshaw's retirement.

"I really wish it was something that didn't have to happen, but he has served his community well, and his works will definitely keep going."

A former gas station, the center was originally named the Jerusalem Outreach Center and in January, 2003, was renamed in honor of Dr. Crenshaw. Its programs for at-risk youth are now being run by Connecting Point, the pastor said.

A native of Greenville, Ala., Dr. Crenshaw said he knew by age 9 that he would be a minister someday.

"Then in 1949 I heard what we call 'a calling from God.' In 1952, I was licensed to preach."

His first pastorate was at First Baptist Church of Rossford, where he served for five years.

He then served as pastor for 10 years at First Baptist Church of Fostoria.

On Dec. 7, 1968, Dr. Crenshaw became pastor of Jerusalem Baptist, assuming leadership of a church that had been torn apart by the resignation of a minister.

"It was absolutely divided," he said. "There were very few members and very little money. I was paid $75 a week and had to work other jobs to provide for my family."

Through the decades, Dr. Crenshaw has been active in local civic and political circles and has worked closely with elected officials starting with Mayor William Ensign, who was in office when Dr. Crenshaw became pastor of Jerusalem Baptist.

"That helps you in your ministry," he said. "The politicians are willing to listen to my story and to help any way they can."

Dr. Crenshaw said he plans to write two books on topics that are dear to him: one on working with at-risk youths and the other on "the difficulties of pastoring."

"I'm looking forward to writing those," he said.

He also will be glad to serve as a guest preacher, filling in for local ministers when they are on vacation.

But Dr. Crenshaw, the father of five, also is looking forward to spending time with his two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

And whenever he has a chance, he hopes to hook a few bass and catfish.

"I like to fish," he said with a smile that reveals a gold-capped tooth.

As he turns 76 tomorrow, Dr. Crenshaw said he has no qualms about retiring.

"Not at all. I feel good," he said.

A retirement banquet for The Rev. Dr. H.M. "Harry" Crenshaw swill be held at 5 p.m. today at the Martin Luther King, Jr., Plaza, with guest speaker the Rev. Dr. George W. Waddles of Chicago, dean of the National Baptist Congress of Christian Education.

First Published April 24, 2004, 10:19 a.m.