Carolina’s Tent Crusade Coming To Dillon County This Fall

By Betsy Finklea
The Carolina’s Tent Crusade is coming to Dillon County this fall, and organizers have big expectations about the impact it could have on the community.
A meeting was held with several local pastors at the City of Dillon Wellness Center on Friday to discuss the crusade that is coming to Dillon.

The Crusade
The event is being organized by Follow Me Crusade in collaboration with local pastors and churches in the area. It will take place Sunday-Thursday, October 19th-23rd and Sunday-Thursday, October 26th-30th. It will take place on property owned by Conner Bracey on Highway 9 next to I-95 near Dillon Furniture Manufacturing.
Mitchell Gough of Follow Me Crusade, who led the meeting, said this could be a historical event for Dillon County. He said it came about when Pastor Richie Hicks witness what happed with the crusades held in Clarendon, Sumter, and Lake City and asked that the big tent come to Dillon. He said Pastor Hicks told him he wanted to see God move one more time in this town. Today, it is all becoming a reality.

C.T. Townsend Ministries
Follow Me Crusade is partnering with Pastor C.T. Townsend Ministries. C.T. Townsend was reared in the mountains of West Virginia in the home of a preacher. He said he never wanted to be a preacher and was chasing a business degree. He was miserable, and the Lord won out. Townsend went to seminary in Augusta, and this is where he met his wife. He is currently the lead pastor at Victory Baptist Church in North Augusta, where he lives with his wife, Becky, and their three children.
While working under Dr. Ralph Sexton, Jr. in Asheville, Townsend got the call for evangelism. He and his family went across the country for approximately seven years sharing the message of Jesus Christ before coming to Victory Baptist in 2019.
Townsend believes in the power of revival. In 2016, he was invited to preach a weeklong revival in Burlington, North Carolina. It went over well, and he was asked to stay a second week, and the attendance doubled. By the third week, 1,000 people were attending every night. Three solid months later, there were as many as 3,500 in one night and a record 1,249 people gave their hearts to Jesus.
Funds were raised to get Townsend his own tent, staging, sound system, etc. A goal of $250,000 was set, and $400,000 was raised.
In a video shown at the meeting, he said it was amazing to see what the Lord has done. He said Jesus can save anybody, anywhere, at any time. He said he knows Jesus has never met a sinner that he couldn’t save.
The crusade will be a Gospel preaching meeting with the opportunity for people to come to the altar and give their heart to Jesus. Pastors will be needed to help disciple the new converts.

Volunteers Needed
Pastors are also asked to get volunteers to assist with community outreach and the actual event. It was suggested that some of the churches involved hold prayer meetings to pray for the event and to extend volunteer opportunities. Pastors are encouraged to get their members involved.
The tent is larger than the size of a football field and will be set up about three to four weeks prior to the event. It will take approximately 150 people to put up the tent. Raising the tent is a big deal. Volunteers will also be needed to set up chairs, donate water, help with parking and other duties, and assist with tear down when it is over.
Every new convert will be given a contact card, and a database of every convert will be developed and sent to the participating churches so they can invite them to attend their churches.
It was stated that this was an opportunity for churches to grow from these converts.

Pray Big, Expect Big, God’s Going To Go Big
Jeffrey Shuping, a member of the Follow Me Crusade, said the group formed about five years ago. He was among those invited and thought that after a few meetings, he would step away. He said he was like Jonah. He said he tried to run, but God wouldn’t let him out. Shuping said everyone in the Follow Me Crusade has the same purpose which is to glorify God. He said, “God had to work in us before he could work through us.” Shuping said every one of the members has their own testimony. He said one gets out of the crusades what they put into it. They have partnered with CT Townsend for two tent revivals per year, and they go wherever God tells them to go. He told everyone to “pray big, expect big, and God’s going to go big.”

Pastor’s Church Came Back To Life
Rev. Tony Lupton, pastor of Manning New Start Community Church of the Nazarene, and Rev. Brian Gray, pastor of the Pinewood Baptist Church, spoke about the impact the crusade had on their churches. Rev. Lupton said that his church was “cold” and that the people who committed to the crusade in his church “came back with the Holy Spirit fire and power.” He said it brought their church “back to life.” He said it changed the hearts and minds of the members and caused them to welcome in people that they might not have welcomed in before. He said their church almost tripled in growth. He said they had just two young people when he came to the church and now they are bursting at the seams. They have seen spiritual and financial growth.
He encouraged everyone to get as many people from their church to commit and open up to the idea and see what the Holy Spirit can do. He said God is giving us a chance to get people saved.

It’s About Kingdom Building
Rev. Brian Gray, pastor of Pinewood Baptist Church, talked about how he got involved in the crusade. He said no true revival ever took place without prayer. He said one must get focused in their heart as to what their purpose is. He said God has a purpose and a plan. He said that we must 1) Pray With Intention, 2) Pray With Determination, and 3) Pray With Expectation.
Gray said this crusade is not about denomination, it’s about kingdom building.
He talked about some of the struggles his church had faced. He said they have turned a corner now. The crusade is transforming. Gray said we must check ourselves and see where we are personally, and if we are using our gifts and talents for Jesus. He said we ought to be ashamed when a church shuts its doors and talked about a church that was dwindling and other churches came out to help them grow their membership. Now they are doing well.
Gray said the crusade will take many churches doing many different things. “If your church gets involved, it will change the face of your church,” Gray said.

A Great Opportunity
Mitchell Gough said this a great opportunity. He reviewed materials in the packet and said they are not just looking for people in Dillon County to come, but also people within a 30-mile radius of Dillon County. He and Hope Turner, another member of Follow Me Crusade, then answered questions for the group. Volunteers of all ages are needed. A place will be found for every volunteer.

Erecting The Cross
A cross will be erected sometime during the month of May at the site of the crusade. Proposed dates are May 4th and May 18th at 6:00 p.m. It is 15 feet tall, and some men will be needed to volunteer to put it up.

More Information
The Dillon County News, LLC, will continue posting news about the upcoming crusade. One can also obtain information about the crusade on followmecrusade.org or on Follow Me Crusade’s page on Facebook.
If your church has not been contacted and would like to become involved, e-mail followmecrusade@gmail.com or call Mitchell at 843-774-1095; Hope at 803-410-6133; Jeffrey at 803-600-9200, or Joey at 803-491-6166.

PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Johnnie Daniels/The Dillon County News, LLC