Beach Reach Volunteers Send `GOD-ZILLA' to Spring Break's Land of Sun and Suds.

Lifestyle Editors/Education Writers/Religion Editors

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 4, 2003

As the warm March sun shines down on the pale sands and blue-green waves from the Gulf of Mexico, a throng of high-spirited students from Texas and beyond head for this tiny tourist town to...pass out sunscreen and provide free taxi service to drunks?

The students -- more than 400 strong -- represent Baptist Student Ministry groups who annually pay their own way to make the Spring Break trek to South Padre Island and the Bacchanalian revelry that draws 50,000 students from across the country. Their goal is to keep fellow students safe in this environment of excesses and to share their faith.

Stephen Daughtry, a graduate student at the University of Texas, is returning to "Beach Reach" for the second year in a row. Last year, he participated in the transportation effort, helping tote anyone who wanted a ride to any site of his or her choice on the island.

Once a part of the party crowd himself, Daughtry thinks the van rides may be the ministry's most effective tool. The Baptist students drive a fleet of 25 to 30 vans -- some emblazoned with names like "GOD-ZILLA" and "GOD SQUAD" -- to answer calls for transportation, no questions asked. A hotline number, circulated via fliers on the beach, tell partyers where to call.

Providing those rides, Daughtry says, provides him and others with a unique opportunity to show "a different side of Christianity." The riders, he explains, often expect their hosts to "throw the Bible at them" but find, instead, that the conversation is...well, conversational. And non-judgmental.

"They wonder why on earth someone would stay up until 5 or 6 in the morning to drive them around," he adds. "But they see that we're not down here because we feel obligated. We're down here because of love."

Beach Reach is sponsored by various Baptist Student Ministries of the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT), local churches and associations. The BGCT is the avenue through which more than 5,700 churches in the state support 23 ministry and mission institutions within Texas and others throughout the world.

South Padre Beach Reach, now in its 22nd year, is older than many of the students who come to the island for the no-holds-barred partying. It's the "granddaddy" of other beach ministries, having seen its model expanded to Panama City Beach, Fla., and other Spring Break sites, where participants continue to use the "acts of kindness" approach.

Dr. Buddy Young, Baptist Student Ministry director at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, started Beach Reach in 1980 and now heads the project. It began with Young, then a seminary student and part-time BSM director in Dallas, taking a small group of students to South Padre where they camped in tents and shared the Gospel as opportunities arose.

This year, South Padre's Beach Reach enlarges from one to two weeks, scheduling its services for March 8 to 14 and from March 15 to 21. In addition to free transportation throughout both weeks, student volunteers also will provide their peers with free sunscreen, free pancakes in the mornings and free midnight breakfasts. The latter operates from a couple of parking lot spaces donated by Louie's Back Yard, which bills itself as the largest bayfront club on the planet.

Also sponsored by Beach Reach is world-renowned sand sculptor Randy Hofman who produces huge sand sculptures about the life of Jesus to attract attention and create a platform for dialogue. (Photos located at www.randyhofman.com under "sand sculpture" and at www.beachreach.org under "photo gallery.")

Texas schools participating in this year's Beach Reach include Kilgore College, Lamar State University, McLennan Community College/Texas State Technical College, San Jacinto College, Texarkana College, Texas A&M University, University of Texas, Wayland University, Howard Payne University, Tarleton State University, Texas A&M - Commerce, and Midwestern State University.

Out-of-state schools will include Southwest Baptist University and Three Rivers Community College from Missouri, University of Arkansas, University of Central Oklahoma and University of Georgia.

Additional information on Beach Reach and photos are available at www.beachreach.org.