I'm not getting the WARRIOR so much but the elephant/denial is funny. I would love to see more of the ads (print/web/other) that they did on this. It's not at their site that I could find.

I about killed myself trying to get an elephant for the Catalyst Conference last year, but it couldn't be done. How did ya'll pull this off?

Jesse: It took some time, but we partnered with a local wildlife education organization that had some contacts. We used them in the past to get a lion cub for Christmas one year. If you would like their contact info, shoot me an email (fred@cbglades.com).

Randy: The leadership team definitely discussed different ways of promoting this. They ended up deciding not to publicize the elephant to the church/community. Instead, they decided to build-up anticipation by saying things like, "This will be the biggest, most creative thing we have ever done." It was effective in getting some buzz going. They wanted it to be a surprise more than anything else. We did send out a press release the beginning of last week though...

The good news is that God blessed the efforts! Numerous people were saved (not sure of the final # yet) and we baptized over 70 people Sunday at sunrise on the beach (the benefits of doing ministry in South Florida). In the end, we had just over 7400 people at one of the 8 services. It was a great weekend!

I forgot to add that PETA never showed-up. If they did, we were somewhat prepared. First, we were going to serve them. Second, we were going to plant some of our own protesters...people in bunny outfits with signs that said things like "Church by the Glades likes Jesus more than the Easter Bunny." If you can't beat them, join them, right...