August 28, 2000
Amarillo crusade draws 72,000
___AMARILLO--More than 72,000 people filled Dick Bivins Stadium in Amarillo Aug. 18-20 for Texas Panhandle Festival 2000, an evangelistic crusade featuring Franklin Graham.
___Nine thousand volunteers from 184 local churches worked together to bring the crusade to Amarillo.
___"This event has changed our community for the good and changed it forever," said Bob Sanders, chairman of the local executive committee.
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE fill Dick Bivins Stadium in Amarillo for the Franklin Graham crusade.
___By the end of the crusade, 2,576 people had registered spiritual decisions with crusade counselors.
___In addition to the evening events, a Saturday morning KidzFest drew 12,000 children for a program featuring the Bibleman character. At that event, 365 children responded to an invitation to commit their lives to Christ.
___Before the weekend crusade, local churches sponsored HoopLife 2000, a series of three-on-three basketball tournaments held in inner-city parks in North Amarillo. The championship game was held on Saturday afternoon with Avery Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs presenting the trophies and giving a personal challenge.
___While the number of decisions is a large one, the task of following up is as simple as working a plan, said David Evans, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Amarillo.
___"The Franklin Graham organization is very good at organizing the follow-up," he explained. "First, every counselor who talks with someone follows up personally. Also, the names of those filling out commitment cards are given to at least one church."
___Evans' church was given about 50 names.
___"We have a committee in place that will then contact individuals in the church to make the church contact. All these people were put in place before the crusade ever began, and everything was planned and organized, so now it is simply a matter of putting the plan to work."
___Evans, who was on the steering committee, said the two years of planning were worth the time.
___"We had a very good event. It was very well attended, and there were a lot of decisions made. Our church is very excited," he said.
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