This is a video I found promoting public “witnessing,” otherwise known as “street preaching,” “open air preaching,” or everyone’s favorite…“subway preaching.” In this video you will see a woman I believe to be known simply as “Tiffany G.” extolling the limitless possibilities of saving souls in our decadent little village.

My immediate response while watching this video was one of awe. Subway preaching in NYC is more or less synonymous with “someone please tare my eyeballs out while smashing my testicles with a hammer,” so all the while watching Tiffany G. smile about saving “lost souls” and seeing footage of people yelling on a subway, I couldn’t help but feel slightly out of place, like I was missing something. Is yelling at me at 5:50am all of a sudden cool now?

There were a number of other things I found interesting about this video:

1. This video is meant to be hip. The video uses not-really-but-trying-to-be flashy editing moves that, I am guessing, are meant to catch the attention of young people.
2. The video takes a slight “master’s tools” approach and actually uses footage of hip New York City to draw you in so that you will want to preach against hip New York City. However, the footage is so generic, you could basically take out all the witnessing stuff and replace it with something from the Food Network, and you’d have the same video.
3. All those people who yell out where they are from…. Did they know what they were getting into? What about the young hipster atheists?
4. Tiffany G’s approach on Union Sq. is almost likable. What’s going on here? Am I attracted to her??? Is that an acceptable doorway into being saved?
5. The video is titled “Evangelism Camp,” but I’m pretty sure Tiffany says “Evangelism bootcamp” in her intro. Does that matter?

Here’s some footage of Tiffany G. in it to win it on the subway. Not that anything really happens, but the energy is a little different. I feel a bit nervous for her. Not sure why.

If you’d like to know more about how you can potentially alienate other people, click here to read a short Chick Tract on how you too can become a Witness (for Jack Chick‘s specific interpretation of the Bible).