Memorial Day Weekend came to a close at Indian Creek Baptist Church with three great artists on Saturday night – Gold City, Tim Lovelace and Triumphant Quartet.  Once again, we were blessed by hearing from one of the campers as the evening began. He opened the evening with the Pledge of Allegiance. After a few more announcements, it was time for some music!

The evening began with Gold City on stage, who came out and sang three popular songs, “If God Be For Us,” “Heaven” and “Windows Of Home.”  Some of my personal favorites! As the track kicked off for the next tune, Scott asked everyone to put their hands together for “Shouting Ground.”  After that, Danny said hello to the crowd and joking remarked, “I’m almost chilly!” He went on to introduce the group and give an update on his dad, Tim Riley.  As Danny shared how Tim goes to breakfast every morning with his friends, he interjected this funny story. One morning, Tim encouraged Danny to come with him to breakfast.  He did, and after hearing about all the aches, pains and surgeries Tim’s friends were experiencing, he felt like getting up out of the chair extra carefully just to make sure he wouldn’t break a hip!  LOL! “It was depressing!” Danny said laughing, as he described his dad’s daily routine with his friends. While Danny entertained the crowd with his story, Scott was getting his bass guitar ready for the next song, “Old Time Way of Praising The Lord.”  This one was sung the old fashion way, with just the piano and bass. Afterwards, Danny asked how many Baptists were under the tent. When hands went up, Danny smiled, “Those are my people!” He talked about growing up and how he remembers Gold City, in the early years, singing at some old country churches; the kind of churches that had creaky floors and old pews made out of slats.  The audience chuckled, knowing just what he was talking about. He went on to say that in those churches they experienced some of the greatest moments of worship he can remember. On their latest CD, they recorded a song that reminded him of those moments, which they sang next, “If Church Pews Could Shout.” Following, was a bass feature “When God Is In It” and then “I’m Not Giving Up.”  As Gold City was about to close their time on stage, Danny shared how he read an article a few days prior that said Islam is the fastest growing religion in America. “I hope this song will challenge you as it has me,” said Danny. Then Thomas came and sang, “I Will Stand.” Not long after the ballad began, folks stood all over the tent acknowledging the importance of the song’s message.

The second artist of the night was none other than comedian, Tim Lovelace.  Tim is my all-time favorite Christian comedian. No matter how many times I hear the same stories and jokes, I laugh like it’s the first time I heard it.  The same goes for his time on stage at the tent. He started with his “IQ Test” routine and had the crowd rolling in no time. He introduced his next part of the program by sharing how he’s noticed that we seem to be living in a world that’s obsessed with coffee.  So, in true Tim fashion, he wrote a song about it! It was called “Living In A Coffee World,” and he sang it for us. Being on Tim’s new DVD, this was my first time to hear it and I gotta say, it was hilarious! After, he went into the “Gymnastics Story” and “Piano Styles.”  If you’ve seen Tim Lovelace a few times, you know laughter will be a big part of his program, but you’ll also notice that he always goes into the Gospel at the end and has an encouraging word for Believers. Saturday night at the tent, he had a special request to sing, “The Composer of My Life,” a ballad he doesn’t do live very often.  But he did sang it for us that evening, and it was a very special moment. He ended his set with a prayer and encouraged anyone suffering from a hurt inflicted recently or years ago, to see themselves wrapping their arms around the Lord and letting the hurt go, so His joy could fill their life.

While Tim moved his equipment off the stage, Danny Jones came up to acknowledge some very special people who make the singing at Indian Creek possible every year – the volunteers!  He asked everyone to come stand in front of the stage and we showed our appreciation for all their hard work by a round of applause. Before the next group came on, the ushers took up the offering.

Danny Jones introduced the final group of the night, “They’ve been voted Favorite Quartet of the Year nine times – Triumphant Quartet!”  Triumphant stepped on stage with two ballads, “Welcome Holy Spirit” and “The Cross Is All The Proof I Need.” When the last note ceased, Scotty exclaimed, “Good evening!  Awe, you can do better – I said good evening!” Then they went into their upbeat tune, “Saved By Grace.” Afterwards, Eric greeted the crowd and said that they were excited to be at the tent for first time.  While he was talking with the audience, he introduced the group and their next song, “Amazing God.” Now, because we were at an outdoor event, the next tune they did was kind of a joke. It was “I Wish It Would Rain.”  Though we all laughed, I’m sure no one really did wish for a downpour out in the field! LOL! Up next was their song, “Thankful,” followed by a simple question from Eric, “Are you thankful tonight?” He went on to share how a young teen gave her life to Christ at one of their recent concerts and then gave an invitation for those present.  They closed their set with “Chain Breaker” and “Hallelujah.”

During intermission, I had only one mission…food!  LOL! Before the concert began I was visiting with some friends and missed my opportunity to go eat, and as you can imagine, I was pretty much starved by the time they took their break!  A chicken sandwich and apple pie never tasted so good!

As all the groups made their way to the stage for the second half of the program, Danny Jones encouraged the crowd to have their cameras ready, because Brian Elliott was going to sing!  And sing he did! With help from Thomas (GC’s tenor), Scotty (Triumphant) and Eric (Triumphant) Brian was featured on a verse of “When I Get Carried Away.” As that song came to a close, Danny Jones held out a white hanky and asked Clayton Inman, “Was there something you didn’t do?”  This launched Triumphant into “White Flag,” a Bluegrass tune they can’t get off stage without performing. Just like always, a sea of white hankies flew in the crowd along with every line of the chorus! Not long after, Tim Lovelace was asked to form himself a quartet for “Winging My Way Back Home.”  Tim instructed both quartets to double up at the microphones, then turned to the crowd and said, “This way no one gets their feelings hurt…pretty smart, eh?!” So, with Tim acting as a choir director, Gold City and Triumphant sang “Winging My Way” together. Afterwards, Danny Jones asked Eric to sing “Look For Me,” and this turned out to be quite a moment for the night.  Eric stepped off the stage and sang most of the song in the center aisle, shaking hands with people and just hanging out.

The evening was getting ready to come to a close, but before then, most folks had one very important question, “Will there be a singing next year?”  Danny Jones launched into the story. “When we started tonight,” Danny shared, “we needed $5000 to make budget. When we make budget, that’s when we know the Lord would have us step out in faith and do this again next year.  When the offering was counted tonight, the total was $5004.47. Remember that, $4.47! So, on behalf of a lot of sweating people, get ready, we’re going to sweat in 2019!” Then the weekend closed with “Midnight Cry” and a prayer of thankfulness to the Lord for providing this year’s needs.

Conclusion:  $4.47. What a great testimony to God’s provision!  The 2018 Memorial Day Singing at Indian Creek was a great weekend.  We heard top groups in Gospel Music, enjoyed tasty food and had the chance to reconnect with long time friends.  Most of all, we celebrated our country and its brave heroes! Now, we have another year to look forward to in 2019!