Gen-X sports & God

Evangelist Luis Palau targets younger crowd with skate parks, outdoor festivals

By Sarah Linn ~ The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. - Professional BMXer Bruce Crisman swoops up a concrete slope of Portland's Burnside Skate Park, hanging airborne for a moment before rushing down again.

Looking on, Christian evangelist Luis Palau is full of admiration for their skill. The dim skate park under the rumbling Burnside Bridge in Portland's industrial district seems an odd place to find Palau, one of the nation's better-known evangelists after the legendary Billy Graham.

But the 68-year-old preacher is at the forefront of efforts to make evangelism more active, contemporary and accessible to a younger audience. The Luis Palau Evangelical Association, based in Beaverton, hosts faith-centered festivals throughout the nation and the world.

"Jesus Christ really cares for every subgroup in the area, not just the churchy people," Palau says.

That includes skateboarders, bicycle motocross riders and other aficionados of extreme sports.

To reach that group, the Palau organization is filming "Livin' It," a DVD featuring stunts and testimonies by Christian athletes such as Crisman and pro skater Jud Heald. The DVD will be used as a recruiting tool by church youth groups across the nation and is set for an April 2004 release date.

Four years ago, Palau switched from traditional rallies dominated by sermons and singing to huge outdoor festivals featuring Christian rock music, skate parks, children's activities and corporate sponsors.

According to Palau, the multidenominational "Great Music! Good News!" festivals draw an average of 67,000 people a night, and take up to three years and $2.5 million to plan.

"It's an awesome way to lead people to Christ," says the 24-year-old Crisman, who performs bicycle stunts and shares his testimony at Palau festivals. "Whether three people are saved, or 3,000, God's stoked either way."

Palau's approach succeeds because it appeals to youths' interests, and on their own level, says 18-year-old Zack Spiger, who helped build a skate park used in a Palau festival in Seattle.

"A skateboarder is going to be able to communicate to a skateboarder," says Spiger.