The young evangelicals

Isaiah LEWIS is an evangelistic preacher with a passionate belief that “every person should have a personal relationship with God.” He’s all of 16 years old.

Lewis lives in a world of evangelical Christianity rarely if ever seen in network television news or elsewhere in the secular media. But for two nights, starting tonight, ABC’s “Nightline” follows Lewis and two other equally fresh-faced and clean-cut high school boys -- girls aren’t allowed to take part -- through the four-month lead-up to a national evangelistic preaching contest at Bob Jones University.

We listen to the boys explaining why they feel called to evangelize and we hear from their proud parents. We see one boy playing baseball, another canvassing a neighborhood to bring souls to Christ. But mostly we hear them preaching, straightforward mince-no-words messages about heaven and hell and the importance of choosing Jesus Christ.

It’s a world some viewers are sure to find intriguing and others will find controversial -- some of the subjects in the report say so themselves -- but what we don’t hear is any kind of judgment, outside commentary or even basic journalistic “here’s what critics think” questioning about the boys and their calling.

“Nightline” made a conscious decision to play it straight, and except for an introduction from anchor Chris Bury, the two-night series (which will be postponed if some major news story breaks, demanding immediate coverage) tells the competition story in cinema verite style, with almost no narration. The boys themselves wrestle with some of the tough questions, such as how to balance pride in being recognized for their skills with the humility of doing work they feel God has called them to, not for their own glory but to save souls.

“To preach the word of God is the most incredible feeling in the world,” Lewis says, “and winning is just really a bonus on the end of it.”

The idea for the program, which “Nightline” has dubbed “The Messengers,” came from an outside producer, Matthew Kaufman. He had been to a previous year’s contest, officially called the National Evangelistic Preaching Competition, and thought it would make a compelling “Nightline” report. The producers chose their subjects well, as they advanced from the early rounds to the finals; one of those whom “Nightline” followed ends up winning the competition.

Venturing into the religious realm “is different for network television,” says Leroy Sievers, executive producer of “Nightline.” “Maybe it shouldn’t be, but it is.”

Network news often covers religion in its international manifestations, but not domestically. ABC’s “World News Tonight” not long ago dropped its religion correspondent. Network TV “covers the evangelical community more as a political force than as a religious force,” Sievers says, dipping into the subject only when, say, presidential candidates in 2000 made controversial campaign stops at the university, which previously banned interracial dating and has strict rules governing students’ social lives. “This is a way of looking at them not just as a political bloc but as regular people, and what they do,” Sievers adds.

Of the decision not to have a correspondent interjecting commentary, he says: “It’s cleaner to hear it from people in their own words.” “Nightline” says it expects that this will be the first of more reports on the evangelical community. “It’s high time we started doing more of it,” Sievers says.

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Preachers in film

Evangelistic zeal has long fascinated Hollywood, with filmmakers tackling the subject through the years with varying degrees of success. These are among the more memorable.

“The Miracle Woman”

This 1931 Frank Capra drama starred Barbara Stanwyck as evangelist Florence “Faith” Fallon.

“Rain”

Based on a Somerset Maugham story, the 1932 film of a zealous missionary trying to save the soul of Sadie Thompson, a prostitute, starred Joan Crawford and Walter Huston

“Marjoe”

A 1972 documentary on child evangelist Marjoe Gortner, who became famous on the tent revival circuit.

“Leap of Faith”

Steve Martin starred in this 1992 film as Jonas Nightingale, a tent revival huckster caught in a small town.

“Fall From Grace”

Kevin Spacey and Bernadette Peters starred as televangelists Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker in the 1990 TV movie.

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‘Nightline’

What: “The Messengers”

Where: ABC

When: Today and Friday, 11:35 p.m.

Credits: Executive producer Leroy Sievers; producers George Griffin and Matthew Kaufman; hosted by Chris Bury