Greater Kentucky Lake GO TELL Crusade Draws Crowds of Over 10,000
615 First – time Professions of Faith Recorded
Situated on a fork of the West Sandy River, Paris, Tennessee, is home to the world’s biggest fish fry. But when Evangelist Rick Gage and his team recently joined with more than fifty churches in Henry County for a GO TELL Crusade, they started an unprecedented, sweeping revival, fishing for the souls of men and women.
Citizens were astonished when crowds exceeding 10,000 flocked to Henry County High School Football Stadium for the four-night event. By its conclusion, 893 spiritual decisions had been recorded, including 615 first-time professions of faith.
Excitement still pervades the area as reports of changed lives arrive daily. An email from a mother reads, “A million thank yous are not enough. My two oldest children were saved Sunday night, and my husband and I rededicated our lives to God. How could I begin to express my heart’s overflowing thankfulness that our once almost-broken family has come together in wonderful closeness.”
Testimonies include people delivered from organized crime, families reunited, young people delivered from drugs, relationships healed, prominent citizens led to faith in Christ, church members saved, and issues of long-term hate and bitterness resolved.
Gage, who has dedicated his life to reaching rural America for Christ, has been filling football stadiums for more than a decade in small towns across America.
During the day, Gage and his GO TELL team conducted ON TRACK School Assemblies and spoke throughout the area. Monday morning of the crusade, Henry County’s fourth through twelfth graders assembled along with school board members and the superintendent of schools. More than 3,000 students filled the high school football stadium for a school assembly where Rick Gage spoke about life’s choices with an emphasis on “bullying”.
On Tuesday morning, Rick spoke at Bethel College where more than 100 students made commitments to Christ.
“Wow, was it exciting to see how the Lord moved,” said Dr. Joe Davis, executive director of the Center for Biblical Counseling who served as the Crusade Counseling chairman. “We had trained 240 counselors, but nothing could have prepared us for what we experienced the last night of the crusade. As people began to respond to the invitation, I told the counselors, ‘You’re each going to have to counsel two people.’ But as waves of people kept coming, I said, ‘No, make it four each!’ Over 400 people came forward that night! Others are even now being saved with the awesome follow-up that is in place.”
Rick Stanley, an evangelist and step-brother of Elvis Presley, gave his testimony at the crusade and spoke at the county jail. The GO TELL team received a call from a judge asking them to visit the local jail, the Henry County Correctional Center. After a two-hour service, 126 prisoners professed their faith in Jesus Christ. Many were weeping and crying. The judge said that this was the first time she had ever witnessed such emotion from the women’s ward where the inmates often are more hardened than the men.
Crusade General Chairman, Carlton Gerrell said, “We’ve never had our local churches unite like this. As churches worked together, we felt the greatest sense of unity and a spirit of cooperation that has ever occurred in this area. Pastors are continuing to meet together and are committed to keeping each other accountable as we keep the fires of revival burning. Rick Gage is not just a vocational evangelist. He is truly anointed and called of God, and his passion and zeal for God are felt by all with whom he comes in contact. The Lord uses him mightily.”
“It was an amazing week,” commented Crusade Co-Chairman Jim Twilbeck. “God moved in mighty ways. Every night the stadium, which seats nearly 3,000, was filled to capacity with people standing on the sidelines. It was an awesome sight. There were so many decisions for Christ. Especially moving to me was seeing big, old boys, football players, with tears, getting saved. We typed up the decisions that were made every night and gave them to the area’s pastors the next day at the noon luncheon. Extensive follow-up is in place. I’ve heard from many churches that had additional decisions the Sunday after the crusade as the spirit of revival continues.”
Pastor Joe McClure of Open Doors Community Church, worked extensively on outreach. “This crusade was absolutely fantastic,” he said. “The baptismal service at the lake was wonderful and a great testimony to this county. Several churches united to baptize forty-two people. Many more will be baptized in the days ahead. I truly believe we will feel the results of this crusade in the weeks, months, and years ahead.”
“What a thrill it was to be a part of something that impacted the entire community. The crusade was a wake-up call for our different denominations. Strongholds of division among the body of Christ were broken as we all came together for one cause: to win people to Jesus Christ,” said Prayer Chairman Henry Schaadt. “Our community will never be the same again. Intense prayer for this crusade began many months ago; and now that it is over, we are continuing our prayer meetings in churches all over the county.”
Finance Chairman Bob Cathey rejoiced at the number of young men and boys who were saved during the crusade. “It was an awesome thing to see the Spirit of God all over these young men, and we are putting in a tremendous effort to disciple them. Parents have already granted permission for their sons to attend a men’s gathering where will be mentoring these boys. Practically every church that actively participated in the crusade has witnessed between five and thirty people join their church,” said Mr. Cathey.
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, GO TELL Sundays, and overseas missions trips.
For more information about Rick Gage GO TELL Ministries, please call 1-866-I-GO-TELL, email at info@gotellministries.com.
