TruthQuest: California -- 1,200 Miles of Ministry

TruthQuest: California set for national premier
FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--"TruthQuest: California," the nation's first Christian reality television series, will debut on FamilyNet Television Oct. 3. The show features 12 Southern Baptist teenagers as they travel across California and apply their faith in Jesus Christ in the real world.

TruthQuest: California will air weekly on FamilyNet Television on Thursday nights at 7 p.m. Eastern time; Fridays, 12 a.m. & 11 p.m. Eastern; Saturdays, 11:30 a.m. Eastern; and Sundays, 12:30 a.m. Eastern. Read More...

Third Day, BeBo Norman among artists launching TruthQuest
FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--Viewers watching the new Christian reality series "TruthQuest: California" will have an opportunity to hear some of the most popular groups in Christian music, including Jars of Clay, Third Day and Bebo Norman. Read More...

'TruthQuest' turns tables on lurid reality TV fare
NEW YORK (BP)--A group of teenage missionaries will be featured in a new "reality" television show that turns the tables on the genre. "TruthQuest: California," which will be shown beginning Oct. 3 on FamilyNet Television, a cable Christian television station reaching 34 million homes, thinks its good clean Christian fun can succeed. Others doubt it. Read More...

College students make a difference at Yosemite
YOSEMITE, Calif. (BP)--Yosemite National Park lays claim to some of the best climbing, backpacking and hiking in the world. Many people travel great distances to take advantage of life in the great outdoors, and some even sense spiritual connections to the beauty of the park -- including Southern Baptist summer missionaries. Read More...

FIRST-PERSON: TruthQuester conquers fear, learns about trust on rock
YOSEMITE, Calif. (BP)--Wow! Wow! Wow! That's all I can say about July 15.
I can't believe that I went rock climbing in Yosemite -- especially since I can't stand heights. When the TruthQuest team rappelled off a 30-foot high rock, it took me forever to get down.

After I finally returned to the ground, I thought our adventure was over. However, North American Mission Board missionary Steve Hughes told us that we should conquer a bigger rock to have a better feeling. Read More...

TruthQuest member sees God in beauty around her
YOSEMITE, Calif. (BP)--With a flashlight in hand, TruthQuest member Katie Rice Royals, 17, swings her backpack over her shoulder, grabs her sleeping bag and heads toward the camping site at Yosemite National Park. The sun is setting behind the Sequoia-adorned mountains and this seasoned outdoorswoman from Jackson, Miss., said she is closer to God because of the scenery around her.

"There is something about not having any manmade things accessible like TV or radio. I feel like I am closer to God by being surrounded by his creation," said the Mississippi College freshman. "There is nothing here to distract me.

"Being surrounded by nature such as Yosemite takes my breath away. I often wonder how anyone can look at a place such as Yosemite and say there is not a God." Read More...

FIRST PERSON: Quiet time gives added reflection to TQ journey
JENESS PARK, Calif. (BP)--July 16 was a great day in comparison to the last few. No cameras, no lights and no hype.

It was just a day where we could all sit back and have an official quiet time. It has been hard to fit such moments into our busy TruthQuest schedule, because when we do have precious free time, it has been so tempting to sleep.

It was so nice because I had a full hour that I was completely alone in a bunk on the bus. I opened up my Bible and just soaked in what God was trying to reveal to me through his Word and his Spirit. Read More...

Father's death deepens TruthQuester's faith
JENESS PARK, Calif. (BP)--When Sarah Brown was 8 years old, she gave her life to Christ. When she was 13, she started living for Christ. But it wouldn't be until she was 16 that she would learn the true meaning of trusting in God.

"When I was 8, my church had a revival, and I decided to give my life to Christ. Basically I had fire insurance, and that was about it," said Brown, of Rising Star Baptist Church in Youngstown, Ohio. "Then when I was 13, our church youth group went to a youth retreat. The whole retreat was organized by youth. The praise team really impacted me. They are my age and they are all living for Christ. So that's when I started to live for Christ." Read More...

FIRST-PERSON: 2 pastors prove recreation can lead people to Christ
YOSEMITE, Calif. (BP)--For some time now I have had a hard time believing that giving one's life completely to God will result in total happiness here on earth. However, God continues to show me that one can actually serve him and be completely happy at the same time. Read More...

On-site filming underway for TruthQuest: California
SAN DIEGO (BP)--"TruthQuest: California," the nation's first Christian reality television series, began July 11 on-site filming of 12 teenagers and their encounters with Southern Baptist evangelistic and teambuilding ministries. Read More...

Surfing preacher plants church in sandy beach
PACIFIC BEACH, Calif. (BP)--Typically, Evan Lauer wakes up early in the morning and yawns in the bright sunshine. After breakfast and a quick shower to start off the day, he suits up for work. Every morning, this Southern Baptist pastor dresses in sandals and beach surf shorts, two tattoos visible on his ankle and arm. Read More...

FIRST PERSON: Beach encounter leads to salvation of stranger
PACIFIC BEACH, Calif. (BP)--Before ever arriving in California for TruthQuest, I prayed a whole lot. There is one phrase in particular that I decided to claim -- get usable and allow God to wear you out!

I have wanted for so long to be bold in a way that I find hard to describe. I felt that one of my biggest challenges would be the fear of being unsure of my words: getting into a situation in which I couldn't explain my way out or just not having the answer to a question I was asked. So, it was with all this anticipation and not nearly enough faith that I brought myself out to Pacific Beach. Read More...

TruthQuester faces her own true-life reality
SAN DIEGO (BP)--TruthQuest: California member Janie Jo Allen is embarking on a two-week journey with Baptist Press and FamilyNet Television, but nothing could have prepared her for the real-life drama that started in her family three years ago. Read More...

TRUTHQUEST: Christians have duty to evangelize world
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--As Christians, we all have a responsibility -- whether we like it or not -- to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone we encounter. Read More...

Local teens rally behind TruthQuest: California team
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Hundreds of teens gathered for a TruthQuest rally July 11 meant to be the last surge of encouragement before the 12 teens headed off to California the next morning for 1,200 miles of ministry.

TruthQuest: California is a joint ministry project involving Baptist Press, FamilyNet Television and the Broadman & Holman publishing arm of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. For 10 days, the students will write stories about and participate in cutting-edge ministry in California. Their stories will appear in Baptist Press and their adventures will be chronicled in a 13-episode television series to air on FamilyNet this fall. Read More...

Bebo Norman, Third Day artist join TruthQuesters on the river

On the river Christian musicians Bebo Norman and Tai Anderson enjoy God's creation kayaking down the Ocoee River in eastern Tennessee with members of the TruthQuest California team. Photo by Justin Veneman

CLEVELAND, Tenn. (BP)--When Christian musical artist and minister Bebo Norman wants to get away from the busyness of life, he loads up his Wavesport kayak and drives up Interstate 75 from Atlanta to the roaring rapids of east Tennessee's Ocoee River.

Home of the 1996 Olympic Games' whitewater course, more than 200,000 rafting enthusiasts maneuver through the churning waters of the Ocoee each year. Read More...

Christian artists to appear on TruthQuest: California series
FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--Bebo Norman, Sarah Sadler and the Paul Colman Trio (pc3) will make guest appearances on FamilyNet's new Christian reality series TruthQuest: California. The artists are represented by the Nashville-based Essential Records label. Read More...

TruthQuest team members say they are normal teenagers
ST. LOUIS (BP)--The difference between Christian teenagers and non-Christian teenagers is as simple as a relationship, said team members of the FamilyNet teen-reality television program, TruthQuest: California. Read More...

New website features TruthQuest: California
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--A new website has been launched to chronicle and follow the daily adventures of 12 Southern Baptist teenagers as they travel through California reporting on and participating in cutting-edge missionary work in TruthQuest: California. Read More...

TruthQuest rallies planned to kick off television taping
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The congregations of two Southern Baptist churches will host the TruthQuest: California team at rallies featuring a live worship band, special musical artists, drama and youth evangelist Steve Keels.
Read More...

FamilyNet affiliates hope TruthQuest will pull teens away from MTV
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Network affiliates that carry programming from FamilyNet gave their thumbs-up support to the TruthQuest: California team after the 12 teenage participants were introduced at a National Religious Broadcasters reception. Read More...

Plus One's Jason Perry meets TruthQuest team
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Jason Perry, a member of the Christian pop band Plus One, paid a surprise visit to the TruthQuest: California team during a dinner sponsored by Broadman & Holman Publishers, producers of the "TruthQuest Inductive Student Bible."

Perry recently coauthored "You Are Not Your Own" with Steve Keels, editor of the TruthQuest Student Bible. Read More...

Excitement surrounds announcement of TruthQuest: California team
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee expressed his excitement for the 12 Southern Baptist teenagers selected to participate in TruthQuest: California. Read More...

FIRST-PERSON: TruthQuester's Revelation study moved from fear to grace & peace
CLEVELAND, Tenn. (BP)--Picture a 12-year-old boy, all alone in the midst of the greatest war the world has ever seen. A 12-year-old boy, in a frenzy to find anyone he knows. Every second of every minute of every day he hides from the evil ones that have come in search of blood. There is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. All he can do is wait, wait for seven years and hope that he has a second chance. For nearly two years, I lived my life in fear that I would one day become this little boy. Read More...