A piece of my history!
I sang in the choir at this festival. It was the MOST incredible experience of my life! EVER!! I cried so hard it was difficult to sing!!! Over 3,000 people responded to the altar call.
The song we sang during the call was Revival by Robin Mark from the album Revival in Belfast! Powerful, powerful song!!! I will NEVER forget!!!!!!!!!!!!
During Spring Break at Bakersfield College the campus is usually deserted and quiet. But this past weekend, the college’s stadium was anything but hushed as nearly 60,000 people gathered for three days of music, fun, and truth at the Kern County Festival with Franklin Graham.
“I’ve never seen so much energy and unity in this community,” said local business leader and volunteer co-executive chairman of the Festival, Warren Carter. “This has been an amazing event for Bakersfield that brought hundreds of churches and thousands of members of the community together for one common purpose.”
The Festival which ran April 2-4 at Bakersfield College Stadium drew 59,365 people. The event featured nightly messages from Franklin Graham challenging the audience to put behind troubles in their past and allow God to lead their future.
“Many people think that religion will save them, or that if they can just sit in a pew long enough or own enough Bibles, that will save them, but it doesn’t work that way,” said Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. “It’s all about Who you know — and I’m talking about having a relationship with Jesus.”
During the event 3,491 people responded to Graham’s invitation to commit their lives to Jesus Christ.
Over the past year, more than 260 local churches and thousands of volunteers joined together, overcoming racial and denominational barriers to help organize the Festival.
In addition to Graham’s messages, the Festival featured a diverse collection of special guests, including: Award-winning musical artists Lee Greenwood, Jars of Clay, Joy Williams, Fernando Ortega, Dennis Agajanian, and The Tommy Coomes Band all delivered energetic and inspirational performances.
Bibleman — Saturday morning some 7,600 kids gathered to see the popular superhero Bibleman bring his fun action presentation of Biblical truth. Following the presentation, 1,120 children responded to the invitation to commit their lives to Christ.
Mayor of Bakersfield Harvey Hall greeted the audience and thanked Franklin Graham for bringing the Festival and a message of hope to the community.
1,600-voice choir comprised of volunteers from many area churches of varying denominations in the area performed during two nights of the Festival.Franklin Graham, 51, will hold his next Festival in Tijuana, Mexico June 10-12. In addition to his leadership role with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Graham is president and CEO of international Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse.
