Tween Evangelist? Justin Bieber Film Packed With Prayer

CHICAGO — With a smooth voice, a signature mop of hair and a string of hits, Justin Bieber has accumulated millions of fans and sold 3.7 million albums in the United States last year. Now Bieber’s handlers are showcasing another side of the 16-year-old pop sensation: Christian icon for the tween set.

Bieber’s faith is on display in the new 3-D concert film/documentary Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, which hits theaters Friday (Feb. 11). Paramount Pictures has screened the movie for faith leaders across the country and distributed spiritual discussion guides — the same tools used to promote The Passion of the Christ and The Blind Side as family-friendly fare.

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“People will walk away (from the movie) knowing faith is very important to him,” said Scooter Braun, Bieber’s manager and one of the film’s producers. “As a Christian, he’s someone to look up to. … When (fans) are getting the real person is when they can connect to that person.”

Bieber has never shied away from faith. He was singing Christian songs on YouTube before he became famous. His born-again Christian mother Pattie Mallette has shared her spiritual conversion on a Christian TV show and openly shares her beliefs and Bible verses with 281,000-plus Twitter followers.

Bieber’s come-from-nowhere climb to become the fourth top-selling artist of 2010 has given a higher profile to his Christian beliefs and background, which he also addressed in last fall’s autobiography, First Step 2 Forever: My Story.

“I believe that Jesus died on a cross for my sins,” Bieber told Billboard last November. “He’s the reason that I’m here.”

On his November single Pray, a departure from his typical pop oeuvre, Bieber sings, “I close my eyes and pray / I close my eyes and I can see a better day.” The music video, seen more than 21 million times on YouTube, ends with the written message, “God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer.”