Two former sex workers attended the largest adult entertainment convention in the US on Wednesday not as showgirls, but as unconventional Christian preachers.
Heather Veitch, the founder of J.C.'s (Jesus Christ's) Girls, and Annie Lobert, the founder of Hookers for Jesus, will work the floors at the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas this week handing out cards and testifying about Jesus Christ to whoever will listen.
The Expo takes place every year in January and expects to draw 40,000 people this year. It also includes the adult movie version of the Oscars, the AVN Awards.
"To me, I am used to the attention because I come from that industry," explained Veitch, who said she still gets offered by male porn stars to make films at events like the Expo, according to The Los Angeles Times. "But I am the untouchable one there. I look like those girls, but they can't see me naked."
She added, "Now I am using my body to advertise for God. So to me it is not bad," said the tan, platinum-blond Veitch who still much resembles the girls she's trying to reach for Christ. She said her and Lobert's looks allows girls in the industry to identify with them.
Both girls worked in the sex industry for many years - Veitch as a stripper and Lobert as a call girl - before finding Jesus.
Veitch's ministry, J.C.'s Girls, does outreach every week to local strip clubs where she and other female members of her church go to a topless bar at night and buy lap dances. Once the women get into the private room, they talk to the dancers about Jesus, give them a contact card, and invite them to church. Veitch said the bars have allowed the ministry to come and buy time with the dancers.
Many of the strippers have been touched to hear that Jesus loves them despite their lifestyle. Some have asked to be prayed for instantly while others have left the sex industry or abandoned the idea of getting an abortion.
Lobert, meanwhile, reaches out to call girls at casinos, similar to her former job. She said she sits at bars and talks to girls about her personal story and invites them to church.
Explaining her ministry, Hookers for Jesus, Lobert said, "I picked that name because it is catchy. Most Christians might think I am selling my body. But I say that because I am trying to hook people on Jesus. I hook them for Jesus."
Emerging church leader and XXXChurch.com ministry founder Pastor Craig Gross will also attend the AVN Adult Expo this week to evangelise those in the porn industry. He will be joined by Veitch and Lobert this year.
XXXChurch.com is an online ministry created to get Christians to talk about their X-rated addictions and help them overcome them. The ministry celebrated its sixth year on Wednesday.
Veitch is relatively well-known and has appeared on shows ranging from "Geraldo" to "The 700 Club" to testify about her conversion and the ministry. She also has a new documentary called "Pussycat Preacher". Lobert has a lower media profile but appeared with Veitch in a series of popular YouTube videos called "Saving Sex City".
