Rick Gage Crusade Storms Football Haven
The little town of Lincolnton, Georgia, nestled on the eastern border of the state, boasts a population of 1,595. Except for its high school football success, it is a town that has drawn little attention. That is, until the Rick Gage Crusade came to town.
Lincoln County’s 8,348 citizens were astonished when thousands flocked to Buddy Bufford Stadium at the local Lincoln County High School for a four-night crusade. By the conclusion of the Rick Gage Crusade in this little unknown town, 627 spiritual decisions had been recorded, including 391 first-time professions of faith.
“No one believed it could happen in our small town,” said Andy Warner, a member of Lincolnton First Assembly of God Church, who volunteered on six different crusade planning committees. “When it was first discussed, most agreed, ‘We simply can’t do this. It couldn’t possibly succeed.’ But we went ahead anyway. More than 30 churches came together to work and pray, and then God took over. What happened is the most overwhelming and marvelous thing I have ever seen!”
Frank Hester, Area Director for Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Lincoln County High School’s Football Team Chaplain, is thrilled at what occurred in the lives of many tough football players as a result of the powerful moving of God’s Spirit at the crusade. “Isn’t it just like God,” he said, “that we’re known for football in Lincoln County, and that’s where countless lives were changed for all eternity—on the football field!”
“One night I worried as I watched five star football players from a rival high school walk across the football field. I wondered if they had come to make a scene. Tears coursed down my face as I watched them kneel and in brokenness each give his life to Christ.”
Young and old alike packed the stands of the football stadium, and then flooded the football field night after night when the invitation was given—giving their lives to Christ and getting right with God.
“I have been a Christian for more than 50 years,” said Prayer Chairman Jim Neal of Double Branches Baptist Church, “But this crusade was out of this world. Many lives were changed; Lincoln County was changed; I was changed.”
Of the 30 football players at Lincolnton High, 22 made professions of faith in Christ during the crusade. There has been a revival among the coaching staff, most of whom were at the crusade. They are now leading Bible studies in Lincolnton to facilitate the Christian growth of their players.
Head football coach Larry Campbell is the winningest high school football coach in the state of Georgia. “It is hard to put into words what this crusade meant in my life and in the lives of those God touched and changed,” he says. “I have lived in Lincolnton for 34 years and nothing can come close to what happened during the crusade. I can’t believe I was reluctant at first, thinking we couldn’t pull off something so big. We’re just a tiny town where the largest business is the Board of Education. If we could do it in Lincolnton, it can be done anywhere.”
Dana O’Neil, secretary of Lincoln County High, and her husband, Alex, members of Kiokee Baptist Church, were in charge of counseling for the crusade. “God accomplished what to us was an impossible task,” she shares. “And what He continues to do is nothing short of miraculous. The crusade was only the beginning. Many decisions that were made at the crusade were not even recorded. Teens are still coming to Christ. I’ve seen kids getting saved in the halls at school. Scores of teens who made decisions are now in church and in Bible studies.”
“We started a Bible study in our home the Monday night after the crusade. We had a young man come who had been drunk the last time he was at our house. Now he is studying the Bible and leading others to Christ. Another Bible study is being led by the J.V. Girls’ Cheerleading Coach. One of Rick Gage’s staff members is coming for a follow-up rally, and we’ve already planned a rally for the fall before school starts. What God started will never die.”
“This crusade is the best thing that has ever happened to Lincoln,” said counselor Cedric Pitts. “It crossed racial lines and brought us together in love and unity. It is the first time I’ve seen Lincoln County come together for anything other than a football game, and this time we were all on the same side! God left a mark on my life that will never be erased.”
Pastor Gary Johnson of Lincolnton Baptist Church is preparing to baptize nine of 14 from his church who made decisions at the crusade. “The Rick Gage Crusade was a spiritual milestone” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Churches worked together to do outreach across denominational lines. God has changed our community forever.”
Price McWhorter, Crusade Chairman and member of Double Branches Baptist Church, was credited with putting his “heart and soul” into crusade preparation. He expressed deep gratitude to the Lord for the privilege of being part of the crusade. “It is impossible to put into words how moving it is to see two people whom you work with, in their 50s and 60s, give their lives to Christ. Nothing compares to that kind of joy!”
“God had His hand on our little town when he brought Rick Gage to us,” says Marcene Powell, Finance Chairperson for the crusade. “What at first seemed impossible turned out to be miraculous. God multiplied everything we did because you cannot outgive or outplan Him. This town saw wonderful miracles because we stepped out in faith.”
Pastor Russell Davis of New Work Baptist Church agrees, “God lit a fire in this county that will not go away. Twelve of my members served as counselors at the crusade. This strengthened their faith tremendously. Our congregation is so excited that they do not want to stop sharing their faith. The work has just begun.”
The Gage staff conducted luncheons at local restaurants every day of the crusade where glowing testimonies were given. One especially moving testimony was from medical Doctor Robert Williams. “The Rick Gage Crusade is the best thing that has ever happened in this community. God had not been in our home since the death of our 21-year-old son on August 3, 2002. But on Wednesday night of the crusade, my wife and I went down to rededicate our lives, get rid of bitterness, and promise to get our two girls back to church. Our healing has begun.”
During the days of the crusade, Rick Gage and his crusade team members visited local schools, presenting Gage’s “On Track” School Assembly Program which deals with life’s choices and addresses the dangers of issues such as drugs, alcohol abuse, teen suicide, and premarital sex. Team members also visited the county jail where fifty inmates accepted Christ as Savior.
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 mission trips.
“The old-time gospel still works,” says Gage. “It is hope for the individual, for society, and for the world. Saturating our communities across America with the gospel must be done at all costs. It takes time, money, and involvement to reach lost people. But it will be eternally worth it one day.”
