Making history in Hall county
Rick Gage crusade draws crowds of more than 12,000
By Ruth McClellan, Special
Published October 23, 2003
Evangelist Rick Gage, increasingly becoming known as the Billy Graham of small towns, preached to crowds exceeding 12,000 during a four-night crusade at the Lanier National Speedway near Gainesville.
By the last night of the crusade, 550 spiritual decisions had been recorded, including 329 first-time professions of faith. Hundreds more first-time decisions went unrecorded at Youth Night on Wednesday.
"I've never seen anything like it in my life," said Crusade Chairman Henry Slack, owner of Slack Auto Parts Company. "Night after night people flooded to the altars. God moved in power and changed lives by the hundreds!"
"As I arrived at the crusade Wednesday evening and turned the corner, I saw a sight that literally took my breath away. More than 4,000 young people and adults packed the grandstands. It was as if I could see God's hand in Holy Spirit power sweeping over the crowd. It was the largest gathering of young people for any event in the history of Hall County."
"After Rick Gage preached, young people began to flood the altars in waves. The first wave brought over 300 who repeated the sinner's prayer out loud. We sent them to the counseling station where they could speak one-on-one with our trained counselors. Then, almost 500 came in a second wave! We asked for anyone in the stands who knew how to lead a person to Christ to come help counsel. Only a sovereign God can produce results like that!"
Youth night was the culmination of Gage's outreach to young people of the area through his "On Track" School Assemblies. Crusade Youth Chairman, Maclane Forbus, youth pastor of Blackshear Place Baptist Church in Flowery Branch, counted more than 14,000 young people from area schools who attended these assemblies where Gage talked about life's choices and addressed issues such as drugs, alcohol abuse, and teen suicide.
Those who attended the crusade were also challenged by a dynamic video testimony from Coach of the Year Mark Richt, head football coach of the 2002 SEC Champion University of Georgia Bulldogs. Coach Richt clearly shared his faith and his life's commitment to bringing glory to God and honor to Christ in all his football efforts.
Coach Chan Gailey, head football coach of the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets, shared via video what he feels is a calling on his life. "I have been called by God to coach football, called to tell my players and Georgia Tech fans everywhere about my faith in Jesus Christ!"
