By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – A youth pastor known as the ‘celebrity evangelist’ is on a mission to share the Gospel with some of Hollywood’s most famous men and women, and during the upcoming Youth Evangelism Celebration, Nov. 21-23, LaBorde Earles Coliseum, Alexandria, he wants to recruit Louisiana Baptist youth to join him in making Christ known across the state.
“My heart is really to see this next generation be bold in the Gospel and be bold in their mission field,” Dylan Novak told the Baptist Message. “At YEC, there’s going to be celebrity ministry stories from what we do but most importantly we are going to challenge people to share the Gospel in their mission field with their platform. I feel like a lot of times we’ll get up and say this, ‘You need to go out, and you need to evangelize,’ but we don’t properly explain ‘Here’s how you evangelize.’”
Novak, founder of Celebrity Evangelist Ministries, a non-profit outreach dedicated to sharing the Gospel with the world’s most famous figures, has shared Jesus with more than 2,000 individuals in the entertainment industry. During his time with YEC students and their adult leaders, Novak will share how they too can use a personal approach to reach others for Jesus.
“When sharing the Gospel, evangelism is not cookie cutter,” Novak said. “It’s not one size fits all. It’s different for each person.”
Novak said before approaching a celebrity, he tries to become familiar with where they stand on their faith journey. He then will share how much he loves them and will bring customized gift bags that include embossed Bibles.
“The Bible that we give people with their name embossed on the cover is a great starting point,” he said. “Many times, it can be what starts the conversation. They then may start opening up about some of their beliefs.
“I think a lot of times that is a way that we can all be practical in our evangelism is to just ask somebody where they stand because it’s conversational,” he continued. “We can ask what a person believes, where the person stands on faith. That’s how we can break down those walls and bring the message of hope in Christ alone.”
While not every celebrity has turned to Christ, Novak has seen some of them place their faith in Jesus soon after a conversation with them. He cited a heart-to-heart conversation in 2019 with Ferriday native and country music/rock and roll pianist, singer and songwriter Jerry Lee Lewis, who admitted he was not a Christ follower. A week later, Lewis informed Novak he had turned to Jesus.
“When sharing the Gospel, evangelism is not cookie cutter,” Novak said. “It’s not one size fits all. It’s different for each person.”
Novak said before approaching a celebrity, he tries to become familiar with where they stand on their faith journey. He then will share how much he loves them and will bring customized gift bags that include embossed Bibles.
“The Bible that we give people with their name embossed on the cover is a great starting point,” he said. “Many times, it can be what starts the conversation. They then may start opening up about some of their beliefs.
“I think a lot of times that is a way that we can all be practical in our evangelism is to just ask somebody where they stand
YEC from page three
because it’s conversational,” he continued. “We can ask what a person believes, where the person stands on faith. That’s how we can break down those walls and bring the message of hope in Christ alone.”
While not every celebrity has turned to Christ, Novak has seen some of them place their faith in Jesus soon after a conversation with them. He cited a heart-to-heart conversation in 2019 with Ferriday native and country music/ rock and roll pianist, singer and songwriter Jerry Lee Lewis, who admitted he was not a Christ follower. A week later, Lewis informed Novak he had turned to Jesus.
“He told me, ‘Hey, I got some something great. I want to tell all my fans. I’m going to do it through a Gospel album,’” Novak recalled of the conversation.
Novak, who sensed a call to evangelism at 13 years old, said that just like himself, God has called each Christ follower to share about the hope found in Jesus.
“God has given you your platform for a specific reason, for a specific purpose, and a lot of times we may believe our platform is not big enough,” he said. “One soul is worth it all.
“If we get to the end of our life, but we are able to share Jesus with just one person who accepted, that would have been worth every effort,” he continued. “And so, my challenge to each person is to tell somebody about Jesus today because you have a platform with somebody. Somebody is looking up to you. Somebody respects you. Somebody loves you. And what greater love can you show them than inviting them to church, giving them a tract, or even asking them that uncomfortable question – If you were to die today, where you would spend eternity.
“It’s going to turn some people completely off,” he said. “But would you rather live a selfish life, wanting everybody to love you and accept you, or would you not want to miss your opportunity to stand in and help them know Jesus.”
Louisiana Baptist Youth Ministry Strategist Lee Myers said his prayer is that those attending YEC will come away bolder in their commitment to share Jesus with their classmates, other friends, family members and others.
“One of the things that stands out most about Dylan Novak is his fearless commitment to sharing the Gospel,” he said. “He has an uncanny ability to walk up to celebrities and influential people without being starstruck because he sees them first as people who need Jesus. His boldness isn’t driven by confidence in himself, but by a deep conviction that everyone deserves an opportunity to hear the Gospel.”
Visit labaptistyouth.com/yec for more information.
