Beach Meeting Offers Sun, Sand, the Bible : Evangelists Take Revival to Zuma

Praise the Lord and pass the suntan lotion.

That was the mood last weekend at Zuma Beach in Malibu when a group of young San Fernando Valley evangelists took their revival meeting to the public beach after city officials denied them use of a vacant lot in Northridge.

“We decided to do it the Galilean way--by the sea,” said Steve Ferrell, a member of the Granada Hills group.

The 50 youths, who meet once a week at the Granada Hills Women’s Club for Bible study, had planned a “born-again” Christian revival meeting last weekend, complete with a giant tent, stage, hymns, cookies and punch--all at the corner of Parthenia Street and Balboa Boulevard.

But area residents phoned the office of Councilman Hal Bernson to complain that the meeting would create too much noise and cause parking and traffic problems around the busy intersection. City officials finally told the young evangelists that the corner lot is zoned for residential and agricultural uses, not gospel gatherings.

Saying that they didn’t want to break the law, the group’s organizers moved the meeting.

“We prayed about it, and the Lord drew us here,” said Mitch Schuster, one the group’s leaders. “There’s no bitter feelings at all.”

He said the county Sheriff’s Department, which patrols Zuma Beach, informed him that the group did not need a permit to pitch a canopy at the beach as long it did not bring drugs, alcohol, fireworks or dogs.

Those restrictions being no problem, they scaled down their revival meeting and opted for sun, sand and the Bible.

“The way I look at it, it doesn’t matter if we spread the word on a street corner or at the beach,” said Gary Bradbury of Reseda.

About 30 members of the group walked along the sand, distributing leaflets and asking beachgoers to come to their rented canopy--featuring a sign saying “Valley Gospel Players--to watch a Christian mime act.

“This is unusual; this is unusual,” said Ernie Reepmaker, 68, of Sherman Oaks, one of about 20 sunbathers who accepted the invitation. “My sister and I were just sitting on our towels, and they came up to us and invited to the mime show.

“You know, my son is a surfer, and I can’t get him to go to church. I wonder if he would come to something like this?”