In January I attended the screening of the movie Soul Surfer and came away with two thoughts: First, this is a very good movie, well produced, students will love it (including those who do not know Christ). My second thought - some how we need to tell the rest of the story of Bethany Hamilton's faith and give every student the chance to know Christ just as Bethany knows Christ.
I shared my thoughts with several Campus Alliance partners and we came to the conclusion that to reach out to a massive number of students it could only be done through the Internet. The result is a new website – soulsurfer.com. The site not only tells the story of Bethany's faith, but shares the gospel with an opportunity to trust Christ. (In the first 3 and a half days since we launched the site we have had 6100 visitors and 630 indicated decisions for Christ)
I am writing to invite you to join in our effort. Use this site as one of the outreach & evangelistic strategies of your ministry. The key is youth leaders mobilizing student's to promote the site with other students at their schools and through social media.
Would you consider the list of action points below? Together we will touch a lot of teenagers.
Action points for multiplying awareness of soulsurfer.com
- Send email blasts about the site. There are several suggested emails below. Use anything you need.
- Place a link from your websites to soulsurfer.com
- Use tools for promoting the site by linking -here
- Post news on your Facebook pages. Use Twitter - see tweet helps below.
- Use the site as one of the outreach strategies of your ministry.
Suggested emails
Example #1 (for youth leaders or students)
The student world is buzzing about the new movie Soul Surfer, opening in theaters April 8th. Are you looking for a resource to share Christ through this great story? The answer is a new website - SoulSurfer.com. This powerful tool, created by youth ministries involved in the Campus Alliance, vividly tells the inside story of Bethany's faith. It gives the viewer the opportunity to make that faith his or her own by trusting in Jesus Christ… and receive follow-up! Spread the word and reach out to students by using the web tools we've provided here, including Facebook/twitter updates, rave/promo cards, banners and more!
#2 (for youth leaders)
Are you looking for a resource that will help bring students to Christ in your community, school and church? We are eager to announce the launch of a new website SoulSurfer.com which tells the inside story of pro surfer Bethany Hamilton's personal faith. This site gives viewers the opportunity to learn about Bethany's life and faith in Christ, and to make that faith their own by trusting Him. Spread the word and reach out to students by using the web tools we've provided here such as Facebook/twitter updates, rav/promo cards, banners and more!
#3 (for students)
What if we told you the majority of students in your class know about the Soul Surfer movie and Bethany Hamilton? What if we told you there's a website they can go to and hear Bethany's story and find out how to have a relationship with Christ like Bethany's? Take a moment to check out SoulSurfer.com.The site gives viewers the chance to learn about Bethany's life and faith in Christ, and encourages you to make that faith your own too. Help spread the word and reach out to friends by using the web tools we've provided here, such as Twitter/Facebook updates, rav/promo cards, banners and more!
Twitter Helps
Try using these link shorteners for your tweets:
- To link to the soulsurfer.com: http://bit.ly/g1FAJE
- To link to the everyschool soul surfer outreach page: http://bit.ly/eG8RzQ
Sample Twitter hashtags:
#SoulSurfer
#BethanyHamilton
#inspiring
#inspirational
Suggested Tweet:
- New #Soulsurfer site http://bit.ly/g1FAJE tells the inside story of #BethanyHamilton and her faith.
- Get #Soulsurfer resources at http://bit.ly/eG8RzQ