Making history in Hall county
Rick Gage crusade draws crowds of more than 12,000
By Ruth McClellan, Special
Christian Index
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 Yellowjack-ets, 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!"
Five football players and several cheerleaders from Johnson High School in Hall County placed their faith in Jesus Christ during the crusade. "It was revolutionary for them," said Rick Stowe, associate pastor of Chestnut Mt. Church. "Scores of students from Johnson High who made decisions at the crusade are hungry for more of the Lord. They are meeting for Bible studies and influencing their fellow students."
"The impact on our community cannot be measured. Our church is baptizing over 30 people who were saved at the crusade. Decisions keep being made as the impact from changed lives permeates our county."
Pastor Robbie Foster of Hopewell Baptist Church said, "The crusade brought people together to win our Jerusalem for Christ. Its great impact extends not only to our church but to the entire county."
"Shaun Archer, one of the young men of our church who is a football player at Johnson High, got saved the first night of the crusade. He then began to bring his friends and saw many of them saved. I have already baptized ten of his friends, along with many others, who were saved at the crusade."
Major Wayne Mock, Police Operations Commander for the Hall County Sheriff's Department and member of Blackshear Place Church, was in charge of traffic and security for the crusade. "I felt closer to God at the Rick Gage Crusade than I have ever felt in my life," he said.
"At the end of the Saturday night pre-crusade rally, a 12-year-old boy came up to me and asked me if I was a Christian. I quickly replied, 'Yes, I am, son!' to which he replied with a radiant face, 'I've only been a Christian for five minutes.' My eyes welled up with tears as he hugged me. "All our effort would have been worth it if just that one young boy had been saved. That is the awesomeness of our God-He changes and transforms a life for all eternity in a moment of time!"
More than 40 churches of various denominations cooperated to reach Hall County with the gospel message. Their preparations began a year before the crusade team showed up.
Pastors agree that one of the most significant accomplishments of the crusade was the realization of the importance of working together to do outreach across denominational lines.
Rick Gage Ministries' Crusade Directors Bill and Tammy Loveless, members of South Calhoun Baptist Church in Calhoun, know that results such as those seen during the crusade do not come without a price. "Much sacrifice was involved over a year's time to see God work as He did. People who spent so much time working on the crusade reaped eternal dividends in many ways."
"Rudolph Uys, a co-chairman of the crusade, saw his son saved. Associate Pastor Rick Stowe, counseling and follow-up chairman, rejoiced as his 18-year-old son, Marcus, was saved; Mike Heddon, sound and video Productions chairman of the crusade, also had the privilege of seeing his son saved. As we rejoice and give God glory for every decision, we are especially grateful and humbled that God saved our 25-year-old daughter and her boyfriend. Our hearts are overwhelmed!"
James Merritt, a native of Hall County and pastor of Crosspointe Church in Duluth said, "It is quite possible that Hall County has never seen anything like this."
Rick Stanley, an evangelist and step-brother of Elvis Presley who often travels with Gage gave his testimony at the crusade. He has spoken at four Billy Graham crusades.
"Rick Gage has a heart for the towns that most people overlook," Stanley said. "His mentality is that there is nothing small in the kingdom of God. And God moves in mighty ways like He did here in Hall County."
"The old-time gospel still works," says Gage. "Crusade evangelism still works. Saturating our communities across America with the gospel must be done at all costs. It takes time, money, and involvement to reach lost people."
Rick Gage has witnessed more than 250,000 decisions for Christ through his many evangelistic outreaches in America and abroad. Rick Gage GO TELL Ministries include crusades, summer youth camps, school assemblies, one-day church revivals, and overseas missions trips.
