A Tennessee youth pastor is on a mission to take the Gospel to Hollywood, and he’s got some remarkable stories to tell from his experiences so far.
For the last decade, Pastor Dylan Novak of Henard’s Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Rogersville, Tennessee, says he has seen God move in powerful ways as shares the love of Jesus with celebrities, including some A-list names.
“I thought, wow, this is a forgotten mission field,” he recently told Fox News. “These people are so known in the world, but they’re forgotten.”
Novak, also known on social media as the @celebrityevangelist, became widely recognized earlier this year after the death of Ozzy Osbourne, the heavy metal icon.
A 2023 post from the evangelist resurfaced in July after Osbourne’s death when many people questioned if the Black Sabbath vocalist was a Christian. Novak recounted giving a personalized Bible to Osbourne, his wife, Sharon, and their two children, Kelly and Jack.
“Ozzy has written many songs about his beliefs, such as After Forever and Miracle Man. In 2014, he told The Guardian he considers himself a Christian, but doesn’t understand the Bible because it’s in a language he can’t understand,” he began.
“I was very thankful to have a moment to talk with Ozzy at his table. I told him I had gotten him a gift based on his spiritual beliefs,” he recalled.
Novak went on to reveal that he shared the Gospel, gave Ozzy a personalized Bible, and other books. Days later, he ran into Jack who told him that his father loved the gift and kept it on his bedside table to show people who visit the “Bible that has my name on it.”
This encounter was not singular in nature. The evangelist has met thousands of celebrities including President Donald Trump, Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, Sydney Sweeney and many others.
He told Fox News that he first realized that A-listers needed to hear the Gospel just as much as anybody else after watching an interview with “Superman” actress Margot Kidder, who identified as an atheist.
“Reality hit me one day that these celebrities, these people that we admire, these people that have brought us so much joy through the years with their entertainment work, they’re souls, just like you, just like me, who are on their way to heaven or hell,” he said.
Novak says he always takes a personal approach when meeting celebrities face-to-face. He added that they are often surprised by his attentiveness regarding what they have said about faith in interviews. After presenting the gospel to them, he gives them a gift which includes a personalized Bible and other faith-based material.
“I try to always have a letter for each celebrity…so somebody can reach out to me if they have questions, which we have seen a lot of recently,” he said.
Novak will share images of the celebrities on his Instagram page with a simple request to pray for them.
“I write with the intent that this person is going to see it, because I don’t want them to feel like I’m exploiting them,” he explained.
Novak added that people are following him to not only pray, but often seek advice on how to share the Gospel with those in their circles.
“We are seeing thousands of people praying for these souls,” he said. “A gentleman messaged me and said he’s trying to share the Gospel with a celebrity friend and asked for advice, and it turns out my wife and I will be seeing that same person in 72 hours.”
In a recent interview with the Postscript podcast, Novak shared that people often dismiss artists because of the work they do. He shared that was the case with Ozzy.
“Here’s somebody that most of the Church, most of the world, thought would be too far gone. Here is somebody who is ‘unreachable’ so to speak, but was so open,” he shared, adding that in 2017, Ozzy and his son took a cross-country road trip and stopped at the Ark Museum in Kentucky.
“Ken Ham got to meet them and led them around. Ham made a video saying Ozzy was very inquisitive about Creation, about God, about everything. Again, we would write off Ozzy as ‘that guy,'” he said.
Novak added, “I’ve met some clean cut, put-together people that are as anti-God as you get.”
The Tennessee youth pastor told Fox that he doesn’t know the final decision that Ozzy made but he saw some fruit in his life.
“We don’t always know this side of heaven how that ended up,” Novak said. “I pray Ozzy made a decision to accept and follow Christ. As a result of God’s perfect timing, so many people were praying for Ozzy leading up to his passing. So many people came to know Christ as a result.”
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