Palau Festival: Great Music, Great Skaters, Good News

By Lillian Kwon, Christian Post Reporter Saturday, October 14, 2006

Jesus is cool, ministry leaders are telling crowds of skaters in a new phenomenon of evangelism. A new report on Christians' outreach efforts revealed giant skate parks as new venues for preaching the gospel.

Just last weekend, hundreds of thousands got to see live sports demos with pro skaters doing 360 flips and kickflips at Luis Palau's evangelistic festival in Houston. The Associated Press reported skater outreaches to be described by some as "one of Christianity's newest, hippest and largest means of evangelization."

Pro skaters, BMX and freestyle motocross riders attracted a large crowd at CityFest Houston which drew in a total of some 250,000 people in two days. The featured skaters that tour with the Palau team across the United States is the Livin It ministry, started by actor Stephen Baldwin.

Livin It is pair of skate films Baldwin produced with the Palau team that testifies to the Christian faith, but it's also the latest addition to the world renowned Palau festivals.

Stemming off from the influence of the timeless Billy Graham Crusades, Palau had started hosting his own evangelistic events around the world following similar crusade-style patterns. Just seven years ago, the Palau team adopted a more contemporary model for the new millennium to attract wider audiences, especially youths and the unchurched. The team calls it "festival evangelism" but it's also known as a "party" with the message of Jesus Christ.

Livin It brings a giant skate park to every festival, when weather permits, to attract that very crowd that the Palau team wanted - children and teens and people who haven't heard about Jesus Christ before. Top Christian athletes showcase high flying tricks and give short testimonies about Jesus Christ. Spectators, mainly youth, are then given the chance to step forward and receive Christ.

In June, the action sports ministry released the sequel to the "Livin It" film. "Livin It LA" premiered in Los Angeles and more than 120,000 copies have been distributed.

"Kids are going to heaven because of this," said filmmaker Baldwin, according to a news release.

But skaters are only a part of the popular open-air festivals that bring in the masses and create a less formal church-like environment. Top music artists like Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child, Kirk Franklin and Chris Tomlin, featured at CityFest, are typical for any given Palau festival that's all about "Great music" and "Good news." While contemporary Christian bands are now a common feature in outreach events, Palau saves some bands for last to ensure audiences hear both great music and the good news.