As celebration of Billy Graham's Crusade gets under way in New York, hundreds of evangelicals swarm through New York looking for converts. Clean-cut, white high school and college students from California, Texas, and Florida try to convert commuters on the run. They rendezvous at the South Street Seaport for what they fear will be a dangerous march into Wall Street. (Every woman must be accompanied by a protective male escort in case of trouble, warns the organizer.) Other young evangelists pound plastic buckets and do Christian hip-hop dances at Greeley Square in front of the Herald Square Macy's.

The high point of the week comes when veteran evangelist Frank Meyer leads a group of men and women into the subways. On the street,the group looks like any other bunch of visiting tourists. But once through the turnstiles, they wait for the performance of their lives--on the A train. When the doors swing open, Meyer and his followers rush in and spread throughout the crowd. To the amusement of bored riders, Meyer starts singing Amazing Grace. One fellow evangelist wearing dark glasses preaches along, while the others play devil's advocates and pick fights. The passengers then join in on the singing, mostly scoffing. The cycle begins again a few stops down the line, where the evangelists jump out and get on the next train.

copyright 2006 (ridgeway / ng)