What do an American Idol contestant, a pro bass fisherman, a skydiving Elvis, and a pair of high-paid exotic strippers have in common? They found faith in America’s most unlikely place—Sin City.
Behind the glitz and the neon, some of the most improbable people are experiencing transformation. People like Donte and Stephanie, arguably Vegas’s premier adult dancers, who found their lives stripped of more than clothes, but stripped of meaning and purpose. They each began a spiritual journey. Eventually they came to faith, were married, and began to give back.
Or Brian, a Flyin’ Elvi who will sky dive from a plane, land at your party in full Elvis costume, and break into Hound Dog. This former bouncer, marine, and self-proclaimed tough guy now claims to imitate a different King.
Or Geoff, who went from counting the money in the back rooms of casinos to serving a local church in the valley as a financial officer.
Perhaps sometimes we are too quick to write off certain people and places.
I look at the Christian Bible and see that Jesus hangs out with the riffraff of society. Eventually the religious leaders accused him of being a glutton and a drunkard. He “welcomes” sinners, they said. The term “welcomes” could be translated to say he took “great pleasure” in them and felt “goodwill” toward them.
It goes to show you never know where faith will thrive. From the Vegas Strip to battlefields to corporate headquarters to campuses, faith grows in unexpected places. Perhaps the learning is that when it comes to faith--never say never and expect the unexpected.
Jud Wilhite is the author of the new book, Stripped: Uncensored Grace on the Streets of Vegas, senior pastor of Central Christian Church in Las Vegas.
