Ray Boltz’s Children Share Teen Mania Experiences in New Season of ‘Shiny Happy People’

Evangelicals who grew up during the 1990s likely remember the popularity of Christian singer Ray Boltz, known for hits including “Thank you” and “I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb.” However, some might not have known about the connection that the contemporary Christian singer had with the evangelical youth organization Teen Mania, which is the subject of Prime Video’s latest season of “Shiny Happy People.”

The producers of “Shiny Happy People” continue working to expose the underbelly of evangelical institutions in Season 2, titled “Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War.” The three-episode docuseries highlights the accounts of people who were involved in Teen Mania in their youth, as well as offering the perspective of experts. Featured prominently in the docuseries are two of Ray Boltz’s children, Liz Boltz Ranfeld and Phil Boltz, both of whom were involved in Teen Mania during the height of the ministry’s popularity. 

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‘Shiny Happy People’ Explores the Impact of Teen Mania 

Prime Video released “Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War” on July 23. The goal of Season 2 is to expose “the brutal truths of Teen Mania, once America’s largest evangelical youth organization.” The release follows the success of “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets,” which had “the biggest debut of any documentary series ever produced by Amazon Studios,” according to Variety.

Season 2 of the docuseries portrays Teen Mania—and its initiatives Global Expeditions, Acquire the Fire, and Honor Academy—as controlling and spiritually abusive entities that raised up Christian young people to take over the culture for Christ.

“Founded by Ron Luce in the 1990s, Teen Mania attracted millions of young people through stadium events and its Honor Academy internship program,” says a description of the docuseries. “This season exposes disturbing practices including ESOAL (a Navy SEAL-style endurance test), mock persecution simulations, and dangerous missionary trips.” 

“Following the tragedy at Columbine, the organization shifted toward militant rhetoric and political activism through its ‘Battle Cry’ movement,” says the description. “Behind the inspiring façade, interns endured grueling conditions and damaging psychological manipulation.” 

Episode 1 paints a picture of the threats that evangelicals generally felt from secular culture at the time, threats that Teen Mania encouraged Christians to resist. The episode shows Ron Luce speaking out against cultural influences such as MTV.

Ranfeld and Phil, who described themselves as sold out on the mission of Teen Mania, said that at one point, they asked their parents if they could “block MTV” from being on their television. 

“We had our own little celebrity ecosystem that was so much better than the ungodly world out there,” said Josh Harris, who appears in the docuseries. Harris became famous for writing “I Kissed Dating Goodbye,” published in 1997. He has since deconstructed from his Christian beliefs and stopped the publication of that book. 

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Teen Mania alums interviewed in “Shiny Happy People” described how Luce went from speaking to individual youth groups to speaking at massive Acquire the Fire events, which filled stadiums. These events were not cheesy but were powerful, highly emotional experiences.