XXXCHURCH

A couple of years ago, California youth pastors Mike Foster and Craig Gross had an idea. They were concerned about the growth of the porn industry, and wanted to do something about it.

So they started XXXchurch.com. With a catching marketing slogan, "The #1 Christian Porn Site," they launched the site at the annual Adult entertainment expo in Las Vegas. The idea of the site is simply--get people's attention and then help kick the porn habit.

They got their first big break when a LA Times reporter spotted them at the Adult Expo several years ago. They are back in the Times today with a story about anti-porn TV commercial they filmed with the help of adult filmaker
James DiGiorgio

He had met Foster and Gross at the 2003 Expo--he was showing some of his latest videos, they were talking to people and handing out Bibles. That conversation eventually led them to a studio outside LA, where DiGiorgio filmed their spot.


Surrounded by medieval-looking gear, a cage and hundreds of videotapes, they filmed the adventures of "Pete the Porno Puppet," who warns of the dangers of children discovering their parents' porn collection.

The footage has been edited into a 30-second public-service announcement, which will be aired in the Los Angeles and New York markets in April, as well as a longer, more risque director's cut that will be shown on XXXchurch.com's website.

DiGiorgio,raised Catholic but "no longer practices," told the Times he "enjoys his work but concedes he doesn't often tell people what he does for a living or call his mother and tell her about the scenes he shoots."

The Times reports that the commercial has gotten DiGiorgio into trouble.

In industry publications, he has been accused of careerism, as well as of being a turncoat for directing an anti-pornography ad, and he said he has lost work.

DiGiorgio, a father of two, said he believes the industry has to take responsibility.

"Porn's a commodity these days, like coffee beans and pork bellies," he said. "This stuff is not for kids, like liquor and cigarettes are not for kids. We have to take extraordinary steps to protect them from it. When they get to be adults, they can make their own decisions."

Gross and Foster have gotten criticism for their site, and for working with DiGiorgio. But they figure, if Jesus was around today, he might be spending less time hanging around in church and more time with sinners at the Adult Expo.