A very modern evangelist with an approach that tends to have a great appeal with teenagers, will be delivering his message in Bermuda next week.

American Rick Amato, who has done drugs and - even as a preacher - was addicted to prescription pills will give services starting on Sunday, October 19 at the Evangelical Church in Paget.

His story has been described as an example of a modern day miracle. The grandson of Italian immigrants, once removed from the hills of West Virginia, he grew up in the suburbs bordering Detroit. Born to a Roman Catholic father and a United Methodist mother, Mr. Amato's early roots were marked by traditional religious heritage. It did not last for long.

Experiencing childhood in the 60's and adolescence in the 70's, he quickly joined the counterrevolutionary drug culture and embraced any anti-establishment idea that presented itself. His parents divorced when he was 16 years old, and he turned to fundamentalist religion as a coping mechanism.

After several relapses to drugs and a wild ride that included travel through over 40 nations and almost all 50 states as an itinerant preacher, Mr. Amato was finally hospitalised in 1993 as a prescription drug addict.

He said it was at this point that his spiritual journey took a new twist.

"In 1974, I stumbled into a Protestant church, stoned out of my mind on marijuana, determined to mock the minister. After I heard the message about Christianity as a personal relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, I left determined to become a minister. However, it wasn't until 1993, through my prescription drug addiction that I discovered that knowing God was only complete if I knew Him in myself."

Since that time, Amato has launched a 'War on Addiction' campaign that has taken him to hundreds of thousands of public school students in the United States.

In addition, he has carried his crusade around the world to - in his words - "impact the evolution of human consciousness before I die with the message that the hope of the future of humankind is a synthesis of science and faith."

Mr. Amato likens this hope to the hope he found as a rebellious, confused, drug-using teenager in the early days of his religious experience.

Mr. Amato says that his story is about hope and change and finding God's hidden power in the heart of your worst problem. "We are not humans having spiritual experiences, we are spiritual beings having human experiences," he says. "The focus of spiritual leaders from this point on needs to be helping people find out who they are through their darkest problems and who God is in them."

Amato, his wife of over 20 years, Nancy, and their five children, live in Woodhaven, Michigan.

Mr. Amato says, "my family is not perfect, but we're together, and we're on the same page when it comes to commitment. I hope to share the journeys and struggles we've been through with others, because that's where the power is."

Mr. Amato has authored a book, 'A Pocketful of Pennies', and has produced hundreds of video and audiotapes. He leads groups of doctors, nurses and lay volunteers each year in humanitarian efforts of medicine and Christian spirituality to many nations, especially focusing on the post-socialist nations of Cuba, Russia and China.

He defines his journey as serious business and says: "What started out to be a fight for survival has now become a quest to take Christian spirituality into the 21st century that others might know, whatever their problem, what it means to be free.

Mr. Amato is slated to speak at the Evangelical Church of Bermuda nightly from Sunday, October 19 to Thursday, October 23. Call the church for more information 236 2294.