Network on mission to save Hollywood

LOS ANGELES — Anyone who thinks Britney Spears' best days are behind her should know this — she does have a prayer.

The celebuwreck, who has been struggling to get custody of her kids while launching a comeback, is the top prayer-getter at the Hollywood Prayer Network, a group of more than 5,000 Christians that prays for stars instead of writing them off as lost causes.

The network recently passed a Bible to socialite Paris Hilton and plans to pass one to Spears later this month. It also picks up-and-coming child stars for its monthly Kids Prayer Calendar and pairs hundreds of mentors with struggling actors — the kind more likely to take your order in a restaurant than appear on your television.

Members of the network, which has chapters in 16 U.S. cities and eight countries, see Hollywood as the 21st century's largest mission field, a powerful industry that can be used to sow the seeds of an international cultural and religious revival.

"We tell people, 'If you're angry at a TV show or you're switching channels because of content, stop and pray for the people on the show,"' said Karen Covell, HPN's founder. "If you really believe in God and you believe God has a transforming power, then leave it up to him."

The group is part of a larger movement among Christians who feel that Hollywood may be the best vehicle for reaching the uninitiated, said Robert Johnston, a professor of theology and culture at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena.

A megastar who turns his or her life around and gives the credit to God could have a tremendous influence on today's younger generations, he said.

"The prayer network is the equivalent, and perhaps more important, than praying for our president," Johnston said. "Just as churches have traditionally prayed for leaders, now we recognize that one of our primary sources of leadership is the entertainment industry."

Hollywood insiders, however, say most stars probably don't want any divine intervention — and they question the logic of praying for A-list celebrities when there are more pressing issues such as world hunger, poverty and war.

"This kind of attitude comes off as very sanctimonious and a bit creepy, frankly," said longtime celebrity publicist Michael Levine. "I have been to some born-again Christian events that are every bit as discomforting to me as Tommy Lee at his worst."

That attitude hasn't fazed the Hollywood Prayer Network.