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"Good morning, Cox family!"

"Good morning, Harris family!"

A perky male voice shouted those early morning greetings over a bullhorn. It wasn't the most tranquil start to the day, but for the Cox and Harris families, it was a most-welcome one. Those words from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition host Ty Pennington were the confirmation they'd hoped to hear. In the span of one week (or an hour for TV viewers) the reality show magically transformed their dilapidated houses into extravagant dream homes.

There's something about this hit ABC television program, which renovates (and in many cases completely rebuilds) the homes of needy families, always with tear-inducing results. On a Gospelcom.net message board, one man announces it's the only TV show he watches. In a FamilyLife.com online discussion board, one person queried, "With all the indecency, sexual innuendo, racy ads, and immodest behavior, should we even watch TV anymore? Is there any redeeming value or shows worth watching these days?" Someone replied, "Yes, there is at least one show that is most definitely worth watching: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

What makes this mainstream reality show so attractive to Christians?

For one thing, the show has featured several Christian families. True, there have been Christian cast members on other reality shows, but it was rare that they could speak about their beliefs—except when they were being set up for a punch line. In a refreshing approach, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (EMHE) seems to let believers be believers, without apology. It shows families praying. Church choirs singing "I'm So Glad, Jesus Lifted Me." People speaking about the goodness of God. And ABC broadcasts it all to some 20 million viewers each Sunday evening.

"We're making this show the only way I'd be comfortable making it—by finding great families we want to help, and then turning on the cameras and letting them be them," says Tom Forman, the show's creator and executive producer. "If they choose to pray, then they pray. Whatever their response is, it's what we put on TV."

In one episode, 12-year-old Warrick Harris of inner-city Los Angeles gets down on one knee and, with his head buried in his hands, prayerfully thanks God for his new room. The show even mentions participants' connections with the church. An episode on the Cox family of Southern California unabashedly notes husband and dad John Cox's lifelong work with churches, and on a program featuring the Wofford family of California, Ty Pennington explains how the family was nominated for the makeover by members of their Calvary Chapel church.

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