NEW ORLEANS (BP)–Brenda Crimm knows this year’s biggest party during New Orleans’ Mardi Gras celebration didn’t happen in the French Quarter.
“It happened in heaven because of the decisions for Christ that were made along these parade routes,” Crimm, director of the Baptist Student Union at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL) in Lafayette, said.
Crimm and a small group from her school joined more than 150 college students from Kentucky and Louisiana Feb. 7-11 for “Mardi GrasReach” in the heart of Louisiana’s largest city. Coordinated by the Baptist Sunday School Board’s National Student Ministry, the event was the first in a series of evangelistic projects known as “BreakOut ’97.”
More than 1,000 students are expected to participate in “BreakOut ’97,” according to NSM consultant Bob Hartman.
Upcoming outreach events are planned in Panama City, Fla., March 8-14 and 15-21; Lake Havasu, Ariz., March 15-21; Daytona Beach, Fla., March 22-28; and Key West, Fla., March 15-21.
“I’d really encourage churches and individuals to pray for these events. They can have such an impact on the lives of college students,” Hartman said.
During five chilly days and nights of Mardi Gras parades, students formed a “Krewe of Christ,” sharing the warmth of God’s love with thousands of holiday revelers from around the world. “Krewe” refers to clubs which sponsor one of the 100-plus parades in New Orleans during Mardi Gras.
Several teams of Baptist students, from their headquarters at First Baptist Church of New Orleans strategically located near the start of several major parades, took surveys along streets filled with discarded beads, beer cans and crawfish shells. Others passed out free coffee and “king cake” (a Mardi Gras staple) to parade watchers and vendors. Some learned mime routines and performed during breaks in the action. Still others sang praise and Christian rock songs outside an annex to the church.
For two nights, the annex was converted into “The College Coffeehouse.” More than 270 people stopped by after parades to get warm in a large room filled with candle-lit tables, Christian music and conversation.
And all the students passed out “Krewe of Christ” Mardi
Gras cups — 25,000 of them to be exact, all imprinted with the plan of salvation on back.
“The cups were a great idea because they’re a keeper,”
explained Eric Pratt, minister to university students at First Baptist Church and on-site coordinator of the event. “Even if people don’t look at them when they first get them, chances are they will later on.”
As a result of the students’ efforts, 1,142 people heard the good news of Jesus Christ and 52 made professions of faith.
Rusty Foreman, a graduate student at USL, was part of a small group from his school who led five people to Christ during an afternoon of street witnessing.
“I can get psyched about coming down here and sharing my faith, but it’s harder at home,” Foreman admitted. “One thing I know, though; if I can do it here (during Mardi Gras), I ought to be able to do it anywhere.”
That’s exactly what Hartman wants to hear.
“There is no way to put a price on the conversions that resulted from this,” he said. “But the really exciting thing is the long-term effect this will have on the students who participated. They’ve seen now that they CAN share their faith. Many will go back to their campuses and start sharing the gospel there, too.
“And these students are only 18-22 years old. They have a whole lifetime to share.”
While the Mardi Gras parades no longer venture into the French Quarter — the crowds are just too large and wild — several groups of the “BreakOut” students did. Armed with tracts, surveys, guitars and courage, they hit the streets carrying hand-painted signs with slogans like “Smile, Jesus Loves You” and “Don’t Ignore Jesus, He Didn’t Turn His Back on You.”
They encountered everything from hostility and disinterest
to curiosity and openness.
One group of students gathered for prayer (with their eyes open) near a balcony of revelers who were shouting obscenities, throwing beer bottles and “flashing” passersby.
Another group sang Christian songs on a corner near Bourbon Street. Only a few feet away, men stopped to urinate on the sidewalk.
Another group was “mooned” by several young men.
“It’s tough out there; you see a little bit of everything,” Foreman said during a break at Vieux Carre Baptist Church, the French Quarter headquarters for the ministry. “But our job is just to share. I believe we’re doing some good.”
Nathan Catlin, a sophomore at Louisiana State University, led a graduate student at LSU Medical School in New Orleans to Christ after witnessing to her on a street near First Baptist Church.
“The privilege of seeing someone come to Christ is so special,” he said. “We made out an information card on her, too, so someone from the church could follow up. It turns out, she lives right across the street from the church.”
Tim LeBlanc, a junior at Northeast Louisiana University in Monroe, used the “Krewe of Christ” Mardi Gras cups to share the gospel. He led a group of three boys to accept Christ at the same time.
“(Street witnessing) isn’t difficult for me because I don’t have a hard time meeting people,” he said. “I think that’s what makes it hard for a lot of people; they’re just shy.”
More than 1,000 students are expected to participate in “BreakOut ’97,” according to Hartman. Upcoming outreach events are planned in Panama City, Fla., March 8-14 and 15-21; Lake Havasu, Ariz., March 15-21; Daytona Beach, Fla., March 22-28; and Key West, Fla., March 15-21.
“I’d really encourage churches and individuals to pray for these events. They can have such an impact on the lives of college students,” Hartman said.
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