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Jeremy
Camp headlined the fifth annual Illuminaton concert held at the
Darke County fairgrounds
Sunday. Camp, along with Superchick, Hawk
Nelson and several other Contempory Christian artists
performed for a
day of music and worship for over 2,000 people. CNO Photo By George
Starks
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Illumination a big
success
By George Starks
GREENVILLE- The fifth annual Illumination Festival went off without a
hitch Sunday at the Darke County fairgrounds.
With headline acts performing, it was featured artist Jeremy Camp who
wrapped things up at the end of the night.
Along with Camp, big name acts like Hawk Nelson, Fireflight, Chasen and
Superchick were on hand along with four other bands, with Samestate
kicking things off.
“Jeremy just wowed the crowd. I love it when the artists break out
their Bibles. Jeremy and Fireflight both did this. I like to see that.
It really means a lot,” said Connie McCabe of Illumination Ministries.
”We were over 2,000 people in attendance last night. This was our
biggest Illumination yet. The bands were just fantastic. Hands were
raised and tears were flowing”
When the gate opened to admit people to the grandstands, the line went
from the gate to Sweitzer Street as people were eager to get settled in
for six hours of praise and worship.
“I never saw that line but when I was told it was that long, I was
amazed,” McCabe said. “It just proves we are on the right track and
we’re doing things the right way. People are hungry for something like
this. It’s a positive thing for the community and people are looking
for something positive, I think.”
The day started with a worship service at 9:30 Sunday morning in the
Ohio Center, with coffee house bands performing afterwards. Camp closed
out the night.
“I was so happy to see people there that early in the morning taking
part in the day’s activities,” admitted McCabe.
This year’s concert brought on something McCabe thought was really cool.
“There was a hearing impaired group there this year,” McCabe pointed
out. “They had interpreters and it was great that we could accommodate
them because they wanted to be involved. You wouldn’t think of a group
of hearing impaired people wanting to go to a concert but they totally
enjoyed themselves. So that was new for us and they were excited. It’s
something new to us that we need to look at for the future. God’s going
to grow this thing and we have to be ready.”
It was a year ago when Newsboys were the headliners for Illumination
and many asked the question, “what can they do to top this?”
“We asked ourselves the same question, what can we do to top Newsboys,”
McCabe said. “Newsboys is big but God will provide. We are just willing
to be used for his work.”
Even though no one knows who will be here in 2012, the wheels are in
motion.
McCabe did say that a two day event is in the works and could happen in
the next two to five years that would include workshops for kids and
parents as well as guest speakers on Saturday.
“We are thinking about a youth group weekend,” said McCabe. “We are
really excited about this. Maybe a night of camping.”
McCabe wanted to thank all the sponsors.
“We want to be good stewards of the money we get from all our
sponsors,” said McCabe. “Without them, this would be tough to do. With
all the media coverage we get, the word is getting out and we are
taking it slow but we are growing. We want to thank the community for
supporting us.”
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