The MISSION
The primary mission of Adrian Van Vactor International Ministries (AVVIM) is to utilize the art of illusion as a tool to bridge cultural and generational gaps and communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the distinctive combination of apologetics and entertainment.
CHILD MEETS MAGICIAN
The first time Adrian saw a live performance of a world-renowned illusionist was at 9 years old. That summer while visiting his grandparent’s home in Chicago, he spent his time creating an act with books simply found at a local library. His first performance had an audience of two – grandma and grandpa… his stage – their living room.
Little did Adrian know that Tucson, AZ, where he lived, was the home of one of the largest chapters of the Society of American Magicians. Some time later, while getting his hair cut, Adrian received an invitation to attend the club by his barber, who also happened to be a magician and an active club member.
Soon, Adrian became the youngest member of the Society of American Magicians in Tucson and began developing his skills performing in venues all over the city.
“That kid freaks me out!” Older seasoned performers would often exclaim. Having a background in piano and a family tradition of professional musicians, Adrian’s hands were extraordinarily capable to learn some of the more difficult knuckle-busting slights. What would take some months and months of practice, Adrian learned in weeks.
Having a wealth of performers to learn from at monthly meetings and performances to practice in Tucson, finally Adrian decided to begin competing on stage at national conferences around the country. His exposure earned him an invitation to headline as a teenage performer at the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood, CA.
Then it was time to move onto the international competitions. In 1994 Adrian was selected by audition as one of ten performers from around the globe to come to Las Vegas and compete. This annual international conference is called the “World Magic Seminar” and hosted thousands of professional performers from around the world as well as some of the most renowned names in the performing art of illusion.
Adrian won FIRST PLACE at the event being the fist young performer to win the Lance Burton Award. Later that same year, Adrian was selected by a board of professional peers to receive the Milbourne Christopher Award for “The Most Promising Young Magician of the Future.” Previous recipients of this prestigious award include David Copperfield as well as Siegfried and Roy.
LEAVING THE WORLD BEHIND
“He’s a fool.” Those are some of the words used to describe what Adrian did with his new found success and accomplishments. With a promising magic career ahead of him, Adrian walked away from the prestige of the spotlight to serve with Youth for Christ and Campus Crusade for Christ International (cru) as an entertainer… with a message. This was an unexpected turn since growing up half of his young life with his father and step mother, including a younger brother and sister and four older step siblings, was not a home were God or any faith were ever mentioned except in vein.
Graduating Adrian into the world of professional performing was not the only thing The Society of American Magicians did in Adrian’s life. The local Tucson chapter was also where Adrian met several Christian men who not only taught him the finer points of stage performing but also shared Christ with him. Those relationships eventually led Adrian to land a position with a touring show presented by one of the world’s leading inventors of stage illusions… Andre Kole.
In his early 20’s, Adrian learned a unique combination of performing the art of illusion and evangelism while touring with “The Andre Kole Magical Spectacular,” a ministry of cru where Adrian is currently on staff.
For over 20 years, Adrian has used his international award-winning show as a way to challenge the minds of skeptics and share God’s message of love through Jesus Christ in a relevant and entertaining way.
TRAINING
Adrian has received extensive training as a speaker and evangelist in addition to his many years of performing the art of illusion. A graduate from The Communication Center under cru for evangelistic speaking is where Adrian received over 160 hours of specialized evangelism training in presentation, speech development, and Christian apologetics, enhancing Adrian’s skills and ability to be relevant and effective in a variety of platforms.
In addition to his cru training, Adrian completed The Billy Graham School of Evangelism, a thorough addition to Adrian’s knowledge and skills in communicating the Gospel to today’s world.
Adrian has performed in over 25 countries on 6 continents with thousands of evangelistic outreach and public speaking engagements for hundreds of thousands of people in university campuses, churches, prisons, and youth groups. Adrian was invited to speak and perform for over 11,000 people at the World’s Fair in Hanover, Germany. Adrian has been humbled to present the gospel and see tens of thousands of men, women, and children commit their lives to Christ.
Adrian lives in the South West U.S. as he continues to combine his expertise in the art of illusion with his public speaking and teaching skills to share the life-transforming grace and love of the Lord Jesus Christ in appealing and unforgettable ways for all audiences – to the utter ends of the Earth.