Saturday, March 22, 1997

Eating pancakes and talking religion

By BILL KACZOR

Associated Press Writer

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Temptation is everywhere. Bars beseech students to drink all day for $5. Bikini-wearing women beckon. Thong-clad boys cajole.

Into this Gomorrah wades the Baptist Student Union and the Campus Crusade for Christ with a weapon of their own - pancakes.

"We're not going to push God down their throat," said Rachael Elrod, 19, a sophomore at Campellsville University in Kentucky.

But it can't hurt to grease the skids with flap jacks.

Campus crusaders spread across the hot beach sands of this spring break mecca every day inviting students to a free pancake breakfast. As they eat, they listen to talk about the Bible and Jesus in the hope they leave with more than just a full stomach.

About 300 young adults, some former spring break sinners, offer succor to the estimated 500,000 college students who annually make the pilgrimage to Panama City Beach. Called "Beach Reach," it preaches without getting too pushy.

"It's a confrontational type of evangelism, but it's done in a way that it's not confrontational," said the Rev. Darren Tipton, of Nashville, Tenn.

Tipton, a student evangelism assistant with the Southern Baptist Convention and leader of "Beach Reach," said revelers need a little reminder of morality.

"They are confronted with something they thought they left at home, a lot of them, or that they didn't expect to find on the beach," he said.

Traditional spring breaker Rob Pavis, 23, a University of Buffalo senior from Staten Island, thought he would be drinking his breakfast.

Instead, he found himself eating pancakes and talking religion with William Stacy, a Baptist sophomore at the University of North Texas.

"I pretty much believe what they believe and I think they believe what I believe," said Pavis, a Roman Catholic. "It's nice to meet good people."

Stacy, 20, of Kerrville, Texas, said he's just trying to point people in the right direction.

"I'm not trying to convert anyone," Stacy said.

The crusaders also offer free rides to students, hoping to get in a little talk along the way.

One van crew had difficulty getting its message across to a handful of University of Louisville students, some of whom appeared drunk. After playing a game of guessing majors, the van arrived at its destination before anyone mentioned religion.

As the students got out they were invited to a pancake breakfast the next morning at an amusement park parking lot.

Pancakes are not the only way to draw a crowd. The ministry sponsors volleyball tournaments and each evening Campus Crusade students gather in a huge blue-and-white striped tent for singing, Bible lessons and Christian rock and roll.

Jason Holbrook, 24, a 1995 University of Kentucky graduate, used to head to spring break for the usual reasons. Now he's with the Campus Crusade.

"Drinking a lot didn't make me happy, just the whole party lifestyle, I guess, chasing girls and that kind of thing," Holbrook recalled.

Holbrook gained about 40 pounds, was arrested for drunken driving and caused his parents a lot of grief before mending his ways. Now he works for a church in Texas and plans to begin seminary studies this fall.

"You'd party and spend all your money on spring break and just wake up hung over and miserable," Holbrook said. "I kind of grieve for these guys because I remember how I felt."