Kickstarter campaign launched by evangelist
Comedian, magician and Baptist youth minister raising funds to give away first DVD at youth festivals
A Baptist youth minister and evangelist has launched his first DVD – alongside a fundraising campaign that aims to place it in the hands of young people at festivals this summer.
Tom Elliott is a comedian and magician, and his 45 minute DVD When Life Hands You Lemons, released earlier this month, was filmed in front of a live audience of more than 350 people at the Bacon Theatre in Cheltenham towards the end of 2014.
Tom, youth minister at Minchinhampton Baptist Church, describes it as “a blend of comedy, illusion and a challenging message about the meaning of life” – and wants as many people as possible to be impacted by its message.
He’s teamed up with Urban Saints, a national Christian ministry, to raise £5,000 to give away 1375 copies of his DVD to young people at the Urban Saints Spree weekends across the UK this summer.
The funds will be raised through the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, which asks project creators to choose a minimum funding goal and a deadline. If Tom’s 12 April deadline is not met, no funds are collected – but he is hopeful.
‘I have dreamed about bringing out a DVD for three years,' he said, 'and am excited it’s now being released into homes across the UK to get people talking about the transforming message of life that the Christian faith brings. I am grateful to everyone who has supported me in making this project a reality!’
He added, ‘I have always wanted to give something back to help young people develop in the faith which has transformed my own life. I decided to do a Kickstarter campaign, because of its all or nothing pledging approach, and I believe this is a project which people will support me in.
‘I believe I will be successful in this campaign and the thing I am looking forward to is hand delivering DVDs at Spree Weekends later this year!’
Related: Laughing for the Kingdom - Baptist comedian and evangelist Tom Elliott on using your gifts creatively for God
Baptist Times, 24/03/2015