Jammin4Jesus 2008

The weather forecast for Saturday November 15th was calling for rain and lots of it. The only problem with rain is that it was going to seriously screw up the plans to have a first annual Jammin4Jesus festival to be held at the Folly Road Park on Center st. I remember praying several times the week before the event asking God to clear the skies for the event because I knew how much work had been put into the planning. As I left Goose Creek that rainy Saturday morning it appeared that Jammin4Jesus would be rained out.

As I drove I remembered how I had made a commitment to be there and I decided that I would honor the commitment no matter what. I figured if it did rain I would not be the only person there and so off I went. As I drove closer and closer to Folly Beach I reflected back on a conversation that I had with the organizer of this event. I sent an e-mail to the organizer Tyna and asked her what the fall back plan was in case of rain. Tyna told me there was no fall back plan and not to worry because the rain would not ruin the festival.

The closer I got to Folly Beach the more I began to doubt that the event would not be rained out. It appeared to be getting more over cast by the moment. What I did not realize is that I was in for a surprise. Just as I crossed over one of the bridges coming onto Folly Beach I saw sunshine breaking through the clouds and I could see clear sky. When I saw that I smiled because I knew there was hope for the event to go forward.

Jammin4Jesus 2008 was sponsored by Bethany United Methodist Church and all of the proceeds from the event went towards the James Island outreach ministry foodbank and Ronald McDonald House in Charleston. The dream or vision for this ministry event originated back in either late August or early September within Tyna as God began to speak to her and motivated her to find the time to make those connections that would enable her to bring her vision into reality. Jammin4Jesus was not designed to be a church event but rather it was designed to be the type of event that would break the traditional and denominational barriers in order to attract those folks in the community on Folly Beach that may not be associated with the local church.

In order to facilitate this outreach event on Folly Beach there were several local praise teams that showed up to share the ministry that God has given them. As I listened and watched Crossroads, Exposed, Seacoast, Unmasked and Station 15 during their scheduled times on stage I was able to see how each individual and group brought something different and unique to the event. The main theme throughout this evangelical event was that God has done a work in the lives of those who were there to do their thing and their desire was for anyone that would listen to understand that the same God that has set them free from the pain and heartache of this world could do the same for anyone who was listening.

My role at Jammin4Jesus was to help MC the event and because of that I was able to walk around and talk to other folks who were there as volunteers and I was able to speak to the vendors that were donating their time, talents and services for this event. I remember one vendor in particular who was selling costume jewelry during the event. I happened to walk over and talk to this one lady and her friend and she told me how a little girl came into her area and was captivated by a small bracelet. The little girl looked up at her with a wistful glance and told her she had 3 dollars and wanted to know how much this particular bracelet was on the table. The vendor knew how much the little girl really loved the bracelet so she picked it up off the table and took the 20.00 price tag off of it and told the girl to keep her 3 dollars and that it was a gift.

I remembered standing in the park listening to Unmasked doing their routine and over heard a gentleman who was in biker gear asking the police officer who was working the event some questions about who was sponsoring the event and was it a church event. I do not remember what the policeman’s response was but I know that the gentleman who was wearing the biker gear seemed to be impressed and intrigued about the event in general.

I was particularly impressed that one of Tyna’s friends , Mike, came down all the way from Ohio with a truck load of sound equipment and portable stages and donate his time and talent to make sure that Jammin4Jesus would have the sound equipment needed for the event. Mike brought enough equipment with him to set up two full stages. When one band was doing their thing the next band could set up their equipment and be preparing for their time slot.

All in all Jammin4Jesus turned out to be a huge success. The rain held off until 4 pm and even though Station15 was only able to sing one song they were thankful for the opportunity to be there. As I helped the band members to cover their equipment with tarps and tear things down I apologized to the leader about their being rained out. Instead of being bitter or disappointed about it all of the band members were just thankful for the opportunity to be there and said they would not have it any other way. I stood there with them in the pouring rain holding an umbrella thinking to myself how cool it was to be hanging out with a group of people who have true servants hearts. No one was there that day to make a name for themselves but instead they were there to share with the world what God had done for them and to share his love with others.

In the days to come I will be sharing some pictures and video from this event. I will also be setting up either a blog and/or website for Jammin4Jesus so that you can get a glimpse of what God is going to do through his people in the next event in 2009.


James Moffitt
http://www.lightourworld.com