When he took the job in 2005, André Curtis never thought the new initiative would gain so much press so quickly.

"I was chair for the tourism board, and the Premier called one night," Mr. Curtis explained, "and he said faith-based tourism dropped in his spirit."

The concept was relatively unknown. Only one other country, the Bahamas, had started such an initiative, and they had only been doing it for a couple of years themselves.

Mr. Curtis met with Dr. Miles Monroe to talk about the initiative in the Bahamas.

"He had written the prototype for faith-based tourism, and he asked me to come down to the Bahamas and see how they were doing it," he explained.

"I brought back a plan, prayed about it, made some changes and put it together."

The new initiative brought about a great deal of media interest, particularly in the earlier part of 2007, especially when, according to Mr. Curtis, confusion arose over his two separate roles as the head of Premier Ewart Brown's personal campaign in the Warwick South Central constituency, and his role in leading the Faith-Based Tourism Initiative, which is contracted through Mr. Curtis' company, Harvest Investment Holdings Ltd.

Mr. Curtis admits that there have been several challenges over the last two years since the initiative was developed.

"We had kinks that had to be ironed out – no one had gone before me, so there was no pattern to follow. Those challenges were not publicised (in the beginning) or used as a political tool in terms of the election."

He said the Faith-Based Tourism Initiative was allotted a budget of $400,000, which has been used to develop ten events over the last year, most notably guest speakers Dr. Jamal Bryant and Dr. John Francis, and the CeCe Winans concert, all this past fall. However, funds have also been used to assist local churches in producing their own events.

The few events during 2006 were focused on Christian entertainment, Mr. Curtis said, however, he says that he hoped for more outreach through the 2007 and future events.

"This year, I believe that God was saying that people really needed to be taught," he shared.

As a result, the Initiative's focus has become two fold – both encouraging tourism to the Island and to enrich the lives of Bermuda's churches and people.

This has become an issue for many, who have been concerned over the misuse of Government funds, however Mr. Curtis says while the some of the purposes of the initiative have become two-fold, the focus is still on bringing visitors to the Island.

"When I go (away) to a conference, I like to mingle with the people," he explained. "We want locals to come to the events. The best people to sell a country is the people themselves."

Mr. Curtis's hope is that the interaction between visitors and locals will encourage those visitors to return with their friends and families.

He took the advice of local pastors in deciding who to invite this past year, and those who, according to Curtis, felt God's leading to come to Bermuda, came.

"Every last one of them said, 'I'll take it to God and pray'," he explained.

Curtis, a father of two college-aged children, has believed that the influence from these internationally-recognised speakers has brought a renewed spirit to many of the Island's Christians.

"The atmosphere shifts," he explained. "These pastors are on an international level, so the atmosphere shifts based on that type of anointment."

So has the initiative brought tourists to the island? Curtis gives a resounding yes, even though the numbers at this point may seem small.

"In so many different ways, we've helped by seeing small groups of tourists come (to Bermuda)."

However, numbers are still unavailable and Mr. Curtis, at this time, is unable to reveal those numbers due to stipulations in his contract with Government.

"The Tourism Department has to reveal those numbers," he said.

Much of the advertising of the Faith-Based events has been left to the Department of Tourism's website and to the department's overseas sales team. Several hotels have created special room packages for the different events, and all non-resident visitors are encouraged to sign a guest book that is brought to all events.

Curtis also says that individual churches across the US have also contacted him to arrange for small groups to attend local events, and US Congresswoman Diana E. Watson (Democrat, California) traveled from Washington DC specifically to attend the CeCe Winans concert last month.

"This year has been, in the midst of all the controversy, one of the best years of my life," Mr. Curtis shared.

"I have had the privilege of sitting with people like John Francis, Cindy Trim, Zachary Tims, CeCe Winans and Dr. Jamal Bryant. I've sat with these people and they have imparted life stories and life lessons to me. I couldn't put a price tag on that."

"I think I'm strong for getting this far. I believe I've honoured God in doing what God has called me to do."

"I truly believe – I know – that all this is preparing me for where God has to take me."

"I learned from (Dr. Brown] that change always brings confusion, and if you are strong enough to stand through it, you will see the change through."