By Betsy Finklea
The long-awaited Carolinas Tent Crusade kicks off tomorrow night, Sunday, October 19th, for a two-week stint in Dillon County.
The crusade has been organized by Follow Me Crusade in cooperation with local pastors and churches in the area. It will take place Sunday-Thursday, October 19th-23rd and Sunday-Thursday, October 26th-30th. Services start at 6:30 p.m. each evening. It will take place on property owned by Conner Bracey on Highway 9 next to I-95 near Dillon Furniture Manufacturing at 1206 Radford Boulevard in Dillon.
The first two nights, October 19th and 20th, are designated as Youth Nights, but organizers want the public to know that these nights are not just for youth, but for everyone. These two nights will just emphasize the youth. There will be food at 6 p.m. for youth and prizes. Evangelist Tyler Blue will be leading the October 19-20 services. Evangelist Blue is no stranger to Dillon County and has filled many churches in Dillon County in the past few years when he has come to speak. Evangelist Blue grew up in the church as his father was also an evangelist. In 2006, he answered the call to preach. More than 4,000 people have been saved by Tyler Blue Ministries. He and his wife, Mykaela, have three children. Many in Dillon County will be excited to welcome him as he returns to the county for two nights.
October 21st is first responders/public service night. All first responders are invited to attend, but again, this service is for everyone. Dr. Trent McLaughlin will be leading the October 21st service and will be back again to lead the service on October 26th. He is the senior pastor of Antioch Baptist Church. He and his wife, Myra, have reared two children. Dr. McLaughlin has also been to Dillon County on many occasions and will be welcomed by those in attendance.
Pastor Kenny Baldwin will be leading the services on October 22nd. Kenny Baldwin is the senior pastor at Crossroads Baptist Church having taken on this role in September 2011. Baldwin was saved at the age of four. He answered the call to preach soon after he was saved. He is known as a “dynamic and effective preacher. He and his wife, Bethany, have two sons, two daughters, and another child that they have embraced as their own son.
Pastor C.T. Townsend will be leading the services on October 23rd and October 27th through October 30th. 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. 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.
Various music groups will be performing each night and include the following:
October 19th-The Heath Brothers
October 20th-The Erwins
October 21st-Brian Free and Assurance
October 22nd-23rd- The Browders
October 26th-Soul’d Out
October 27th-The Chitans
October 28th-Eleventh Hour
October 29th-Triumphant Quartet
October 30th-Down East Boys
Prayer is an integral part and an essential need for the crusade. Churches have been asked to “pray big” for the event. Here is the list of the seven items to pray for:
1) That the lost attending the services would receive Christ as their Savior.
2) That the believers in those services would be drawn to Jesus and be revived.
3) That God would use the messages of the pastors to unify our communities and churches in a mighty way.
4) That each night of the Crusade, under the huge tent, would be completely full in attendance, which would amount to 3,200 people per night.
5) That the Holy Spirit would start now preparing the hearts of those people to hear His Word.
6) That God would bless the messages of His Anointed Pastors.
7) That God would use the special music to draw people closer to Him.
The public is asked to answer the question, “Who is your one?,” and to pray for and bring this person to the revival.
All are invited to attend the crusade and help bring a spiritual revival to Dillon County.
Carolinas Tent Crusade Kicks Off Sunday, October 19th
