By Joel Elliott
Friday, June 18, 2003
The Toccoa Record
“Learning about God is the most important thing you can do” was the message Clemson head football coach Tommy Bowden gave to 500 Go Tell campers.
Bowden’s appearance was a featured event of the opening week of Rick Gage’s Go Tell Camp held at the Georgia Baptist conference Center.
Gage said that 62 campers had made decisions for Christ the previous night, and, at press time yesterday, he said that total had risen to over 100.
Gage brought Bowden before the group of campers to impress on them the merits of living for God.
Bowden, who has been head coach of Clemson’s football team for the past five years, said he spends 45 minutes a day reading the Bible and praying in order to learn more about God.
“Living for Christ will not always be an easy task,” Bowden said, “you may even be ridiculed for your stand.” To be prepared for such an occurrence, Bowden said Christians should keep up a daily conversation with God.
“If a daily conversation with God can improve someone’s spiritual life,” Bowden said, “conversation with the wrong crowd can corrupt and erode it.”
Bowden said it is the Biblical principle that “bad company corrupts good morals” and urged the campers to choose their friends wisely.
Daily decisions such as these will help keep Christians on the right path, Bowden said.
“One of the ways for young people to stay out of trouble is for them to make good decisions,” he said in a later interview; but he then added a caution: “You won’t be perfect.”
Bowden addressed student athletes in the audience specifically, and exhorted them to take a bold stand as they played their sports, studied in school and spent time with their friends, many of whom they might make while at camp.
Gage said the number of campers will double next week, as he expects to see about 1,000 come onto the campus.
Gage and counselors are leading the campers in a ministry Gage calls “Servant Evangelism,” and they can be seen around Toccoa giving out free car washes, distributing free light bulbs door-to-door, and giving out free bottles of water.
Gage said the free light bulbs and water bottles are symbolic, as Jesus was referred to in the Bible as the “Light of the World’ and “Living Water.”
The Servant Evangelism concept is based on Acts 1:8, which Gage quoted: “when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you shall receive power and you shall be my witnesses….”
Gage said further that the Go Tell slogan he associates with his camps comes directly from another Bible passage, this one in Mark 5:19, where Jesus commanded someone to “Go Tell” the gospel.
Gage invited everyone in the community to come out to the Georgia Baptist Conference Center to see Sonic Flood, a Christian rock group, perform a free concert. The concert will be at 7p.m. Monday, June 21 and 7p.m. Monday June 28.
