Event Review: I Love America! 2008

(Click here to see my photo gallery of various friends and family members at ILA08.)

I am proud to have been a part of this year’s production of I Love America, the yearly 4th of July outreach/celebration hosted by James River Assembly. In fact, let me take that one step further by saying that I am extremely blessed and honored to have been part of an event that touched lives and reached out to over 80,000 people.

If ILA this year was any indication, Firefall is toast. I’m positive ILA organizers don’t do this with intent to upstage Firefall at all, but considering FF was rained out and ILA wasn’t, many community members I met and spoke with yesterday were hungry for a bona fide 4th of July celebration that was actually going to proceed as planned.

And did it ever…it rained to beat the band in the morning but the skies cleared by 10 AM, keeping temperatures down yet allowing the sun to shine down on a crowd all too eager to enjoy some festivities. ILA offered a ton of games and fun, including military displays, helicopter rides, sky shows, carnival games, and yes, even a mechanical bull.

It was all alcohol-free too, and the community didn’t seem to mind at all. The atmosphere, from what I gathered, was one of people coming out to have a good time and get their minds off what ailed them, if only for a day.

The music was excellent — Starrfadu and Hideaway did a fantastic job, as did our very own JRA Praise Band. Excellent job, guys (and ladies)!!!

We were joined by GOD TV viewers from around the world, as the satellite channel picked up our live feed around 7 and broadcasted the event for three hours. What a tremendous outreach opportunity!

Around 6, the JRA choir members started lining up to take our places on the “Living Flag,” and one hour later, we began our gospel set. The crowd was really receptive to hearing the word of the Lord shared through song, and as I looked out from the flag I could see people really getting into the music, dancing, raising their hands, worshipping and enjoying it all.

The JRA preaching team shared some powerful words on Christ’s love and applied it well to the celebration taking place. As Pastor Scotty Gibbons issued the altar call, it was wonderful to see scores of people making their way to the front to be prayed with and receive Christ in their lives. You know, in times like today — a failing economy that is hitting everyone hard, moral issues being at the center of everything — people are looking for concrete answers more than ever, and at least a couple hundred were able to find the answer they needed in Christ last night. That’s what ILA is really all about, and if last night was any indication, it paid off.

We began the patriotic set a short time later, and most of it was set to the Fireworks Spectacular. Randy and the orchestra did a great job maintaining their timing, as the display of fireworks worked well in synch with the music.

After the fireworks, it was all over but the cryin’, except for those who wanted to stay for the Phil Wickham concert. Getting out was a major headache — I left the parking lot surprisingly quickly, but Springfield’s finest funneled all traffic south on US 65. Not good for a guy needing to go north.

I haven’t been as excited as I was yesterday for an event in awhile, and as stated in my opening paragraph of this post, it was so awesome to partake in a huge ministry.

A note to my fellow Worship and Creative Arts members — it’s an honor to serve with each and every one of you. Even though I don’t know you all personally, it’s still a big blessing to be in a ministry full of people who love the Lord and seek Him continually, and want His best for everyone who calls on His name. You’re all awesome!