Contact: Emily Marrin, 816-556-3001

GARDEN VALLEY, Texas, Sept. 4, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- Acquire The Fire & Teen Mania present an exciting and limited theatrical engagement debut of SURGE, a high-energy interactive movie theater event that fuses music, comedy, and inspirational messages creating a moment where young people and those who believe in them fill theaters across North America. SURGE features empowering and inspirational messages by Ron Luce interwoven between the hilarious comedy of John Gray and musical performances by award-winning Christian artists Casting Crowns, Newsboys, Lecrae and worship artists Acquire the Fire LIVE. SURGE offers an evening that will inspire, entertain and empower generations looking to make a difference.

Screenvision, a national leader in cinema advertising sales, services and content distribution, is partnering with Acquire The Fire and Teen Mania as the U.S. distributor of SURGE, which will premiere on over 400 screens on October 9, 2013. An encore showing is scheduled for October 16, 2013. For theater and ticket information visit: www.SurgeExperience.com.

Continuing to find innovative and relevant ways to reach this current generation of young people is the heart and soul of Teen Mania Ministries, led by President and Founder, Ron Luce. Bringing, hope, good news and inspiration to the places where young people hang-out is critical. Current research by the Barna Group says: Over half of this generation with a Christian background say they are less active in church as they get older. In fact, between high school and turning 30, 43% of these once-active Christians drop out of regular church attendance. By coming to the neighborhoods where young people live, in movie theaters where they already are, SURGE breaks through this apathy by bringing hope, fun, and inspiration to an already exciting and familiar environment.

Mark Hall of Grammy® Award Winning Casting Crowns said: "When Ron told me about his vision for SURGE, I was in before he even finished talking. We both are deeply passionate about inspiring the youth of today, so the SURGE platform and its distribution in movie theatres just made sense to me. People are going to love what we have planned for them."

Over the last twenty-five years, Teen Mania has effectively reached more than three million teenagers through its annual 30+-city Acquire the Fire tour, a live arena and stadium convention. The tour has become the go-to place for youth ministries looking to infuse passion and life into their young people. In the last three years alone, Acquire the Fire has partnered with over 40,000 churches nationwide to bring students to these events. The influence of Acquire the Fire has now spanned generations of young people, as former students, now parents, send their own teens to experience the spiritual encounter that marked their life for the better.

Ron Luce of Teen Mania said: "We are excited to be able to bring SURGE to movie screens across the country. Through our Acquire The Fire events over the past 20 years, we have brought together millions of teens looking for great music and inspiration. In SURGE, we have assembled some of the best Christian talent in music and comedy to create a night of fun and inspiration that is totally different and easily accessible to young people in movie theatres everywhere."

"We are thrilled that Acquire The Fire and Teen Mania have chosen Screenvision to partner on this exciting project. We feel the marketplace has a big appetite for a program such as SURGE, and with the talent that is associated with the project, we are confident this will be a hit with theatre-goers," stated Darryl Schaffer, Screenvision's Executive Vice President, Operations & Exhibitor Relations.

"To be a part of this program with all of the talent amassed is quite an honor. We will be bringing our music in a way people have not seen us perform before, so we think this will be a groundbreaking and inspiring event," said Michael Tait, lead vocalist of Newsboys.

"We have worked together with Acquire The Fire for many years, so when I learned about SURGE, I could not think of a better platform to release my new song. This is going to be such a great event and I am sure people will leave energized," said Lecrae.

John Gray said: "I'm so excited to be a part of SURGE, not because of the event itself, but because of the generation it will reach. I believe this will be a great time of joy, laughter and life changing teaching that will transform the thinking of the next generation's leaders."

More information on the film:
Running Time: 90 minutes
This film is Not Rated
Information on theatre listings and links to buy tickets can be found at: www.SurgeExperience.com

Booking inquiries:
David Wengrod -- Screenvision, 212.497.0463 DWengrod@Screenvision.com  

Press Materials:
surge.alliedim.com
Username: Press
Password: SurgePress

Teen Mania Ministries & Acquire The Fire
The mission of Teen Mania Ministries is to provoke a young generation to passionately pursue Jesus Christ and to take his life-giving message to the ends of the Earth. Since its founding in 1986, TMM has reached millions of teens in the U.S., and sent teenage missionaries to more than 50 nations to share the saving message of the gospel. To find out more about Acquire The Fire and TMM and its various ministries, go to www.acquirethefire.com or www.teenmania.com.

Screenvision
Headquartered in New York, N.Y., Screenvision is a national leader in cinema advertising, offering on-screen advertising, in-lobby promotions and integrated marketing programs to national, regional and local advertisers and providing comprehensive cinema advertising representation services to top tier theatrical exhibitors presenting the highest quality moviegoing experience. The Screenvision cinema advertising network is comprised of over 14,300 screens in 2,300+ theater locations across all 50 states and 94% of DMAs nationwide; delivering through more than 150 theatrical circuits, including 6 of the top 10 exhibitor companies. For more information: www.screenvision.com.

Casting Crowns
With nearly 8.2 million career album sales, 14 GMA Dove Awards, three GRAMMY Awards, two Billboard Music Awards and an American Music Award, Casting Crowns has secured its place as one of the most popular Christian bands of all time. In an unprecedented eight-year span, the group has performed in front of nearly one million fans in 175 different cities. Their nine chart-topping radio singles include passionate hits like "Who Am I," "Voice of Truth," "Lifesong" and "East to West." For more information, please visit www.castingcrowns.com.

Newsboys
This GRAMMY®-nominated and Dove Award-winning band has sold over 7 million units, garnered five RIAA certified Gold albums and 27 #1 hits. With last year's release of "Born Again," its first week out was the largest street week of their careers by selling an astounding 45,311 units and hitting #4 on Billboard's overall chart, charting above new releases from such artists as Sting, Justin Bieber and M.I.A. Its self-titled single topped the charts for 8 weeks, gaining close to eight million impressions to date. Renowned for their heart-pumping live shows, the tight knit Newsboys unit continues to headline gigs in the U.S. and around the world. For more information, please visit www.newsboys.com.

Lecrae
Lecrae released the groundbreaking album After the Music Stops and the first Christian Rap CD to ever sit in the No. 1 position on Billboard's Top Gospel Charts, Rebel. Led by the classic single "Jesus Musik," After the Music Stops slowly spread to the mainstream market with other hits such as "Praying For You" and "Send Me." Aimed to build an audience of disciples, the album sat on Soundscan Christian Hip Hop/R&B chart for two years after releasing in 2006. While in the No. 3 position, Rebel released in 2008 and claimed the No. 3 position on the secular iTunes Rap chart. For more information, please visit www.lacrae.net.

John Gray
John was ordained an Elder at Northview Christian Church in Dothan, AL in March of 2010 and currently serves as an Associate Pastor at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas under the leadership of Pastor Joel Osteen. In addition to being a keynote speaker at Acquire The Fire events nationwide, John has also directed, produced or co-produced award winning films, released two musical albums, a comedy DVD and appeared on hit T.V. shows "Sister, Sister" and "Tyler Perry's The House of Payne." For more information, please visit www.johngrayworld.org.