OAK GROVE, MO. — Evangel University graduate Alex Bryant felt inspired on July 8, 2016, to produce a short video statement about race-relations in America in response to the Dallas shootings.
That insightful message, posted on his Facebook wall last Friday afternoon, has gone viral with more than 10,000,000 (10 million) views and more than 68,000 shares in the first six days.*
On the video, he does not speak, but uses flip cards, facial expressions and the well-timed appearance of his interracial family to make the point he felt compelled to write.
“I took my son Trey to physical therapy on Friday morning, and in the car on the way back, the song ‘Who Am I’ from Annie came on,” said Bryant, executive pastor at New Life Church in Oak Grove, Missouri, near Kansas City.
“As I listened to the words of the song, I felt like God gave me a message.”
When he got home, Bryant told his wife, Angie, and she said, “write it down.” Ten minutes later, he was done.
“We gathered the kids and told them what we wanted to do,” he said. “We prayed for the people of Dallas and we prayed for this video. This is the second take — my daughter knocked over the phone in the first one.”
A self-admitted non-techie, Bryant set his iPhone 6-plus on an easel and had the song “Who Am I” playing in the background on his son’s boombox.
VIDEO ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/alexbryant72?pnref=story.unseen-section
Overwhelming response
After posting the video to Facebook, Bryant said, “We thought it would be great if 5,000 people saw this. By time we got to Chick-fil-A for dinner, it already had over a 1,000 views. It broke 10,000 within a couple of hours and just took off from there.”
Alex and Angie have spent 2-4 hours each night answering Facebook messages from all over the world.
“Hundreds of people have told us they cried when they watched this,” said Bryant. “Me, too! I feel like this is a message for everyone, and God allowed me to view it first.”
Bryant’s background
“I grew up in the projects of Macomb, Ill.,” Bryant said. “I knew what it was like to eat government cheese and government peanut butter. But we are made to give back. I want to help as many people as I can make it out of that situation I was in.”
Part of his journey included a stop at Evangel. “I had known for a long time that God had a plan for me. Evangel was His way of working out that plan in my life,” he said.
Bryant attended Evangel on a football scholarship and graduated in 1995 with a double major in Business Management and Biblical Studies.
He has put both degrees to use, spending nine years in corporate business with MCI and the last 12 years in ministry, including a stint at James River Church in Ozark, Mo., and another at the Dream Center in inner-city St. Louis.
Alex Bryant and Angie Chapin grew up together in Macomb, Ill., but didn’t date until he was nearly finished with Evangel. She is a 1995 graduate of Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, where she earned a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy.
The Bryants have five children — Trey, 15; Michael, 13 (next week); Mason, 9; Joshua, 7; and Katie, 6.
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* VIRAL VIDEO —Alex Bryant posted the video twice to his Facebook, both of which have generated attention, but the second one is the blockbuster. The following numbers are as of 5:30 p.m. on July 13, 2016.
Post #1 was on July 8, at 3:13 p.m., and it has 764,000 views and 13,555 shares.
Post #2 was on July 8, at 3:18 p.m., and it has 9.4 million views and 54,912 shares.
TOTAL — More than 10 million views and more than 68,000 shares.
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Nov. 14, 2014 — Bryant helps send “Hollywood” to Disneyland