Despite revelry, divine conversations take place Religion Today Volume 33, Number 3 Posted May 22, 2000 What do you call a half-million party-minded college students coming to a small Florida town over a one-month period? One major evangelism field. Preaching the Gospel in the midst of the annual bacchanalian revelry known as spring break may seem daunting, but it’s easier than it seems, Paul Alexander of Campus Crusade for Christ told Religion Today. “God orchestrates divine conversations” with those who are ready to hear the Gospel message despite the atmosphere of drunkenness and lasciviousness,” said Alexander, who helped train Christian college students this year to evangelize spring breakers in Panama City Beach, Fla. Spring break has become a rite of passage for American college students. Almost 500,000 came to Panama City Beach this year, engaging in a week of high-risk behavior fueled mostly by alcohol, USA Today said. Date rape, drunkenness at three to five times the legal limit, and broken bones and spinal injuries from balcony falls and alcohol-related jet ski and car accidents are common, said Dr. Fred Epstein, chief of the Bay Medical Center emergency room. More than 3,000 Christian students from campuses across the country took part in Campus Crusade’s Big Break, a month-long outreach to partying spring breakers. Students came in four groups and stayed a week at a time over their schools’ spring breaks, Alexander said. The Christians used volleyball and basketball tournaments, Frisbee games, and tug-of-war competitions to attract beach-goers. They befriended the students, using the opportunities to talk about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, Alexander said. Others cruised the beach and Panama City’s main strip in groups to share their testimony.

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