After debuting in fourth place at the box office, Soul Surfer has caught the attention of Hollywood. Now, youth ministries are using the film’s draw to catch the attention of lost souls surfing the Internet.
Global Media Outreach, which was founded in 2004 by Campus Crusade for Christ, has partnered with several national youth ministries to launch SoulSurfer.com. The web site shares the spiritual story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton, whose is played by AnnaSophia Robb in the blockbuster movie about her young life.
At age 13, Hamilton survived a tiger shark attack while surfing in Hawaii. Despite losing her arm—and 60 percent of her blood—in the traumatic event, Hamilton got back on her board and braved the ocean just a month later. Today, Hamilton is a professional surfer, inspiring the world with her courage and faith.
SoulSurfer.com isn’t just a movie site to push the popularity of the film. The site is all about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hamilton’s family cooperated in developing the site, which includes photos, her personal story, her Christian testimony, and an opportunity to start a personal relationship with Christ.
When visitors click the “Connect with God” button, they find a page where Hamilton virtually leads them to the Lord. “When people ask me what my faith in God means to me, I usually answer in just one word: ‘everything!’,” she says on the site. Hamilton then lays out four principles:
1. God created you to know Him. He loves you!
2. Our sin has separated us from God.
3. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins.
4. We must personally receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior.
Hamilton concludes with the prayer of salvation.
Is this an effective way to preach the Gospel?
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