24 Years and Counting for Kingdom Bound

By Kyle Patterson

It's 24 years and counting for Kingdom Bound Ministries, who today wraps up the yearly festival drawing crowds of nearly 50,000 annually to the grounds of Darien Lake Theme Park for what is for some, the highlight of their summer. This year's event was no difference as thousands packed the grounds of Darien Center, NY for four days of music, seminars, and theme park activities.

Kingdom Bound President Rick Cua commented in his welcome letter, "We truly believe, and hope you will agree, that God has given us a gracious gift with Kingdom Bound for these 24 ministry filled years. Proverbs 10:22 says, "The blessing of the Lord makes one rich and He adds now sorrow to it."

Highlights this year was Jim and Jill Kelly who for one of the first times shared publicly their committment to Christ, their restored marriage, and their hope of seeing Hunter, whom they lost to Krabbe disease, in heaven. Their story brought not only the listeners to tears but the Kellys' as well. Jill expressed her thankfulness to God and his amazing power that was able to reach out and touch Jim's life and bring him to faith and her over-flowing thankfulness for that. Jim shared how his journey of faith had been a slow process resulting from years of having faith pushed on him from former teammates. It wasn't until he and Frank Reich developed a friendship that Jim's heart began to change over time. Jim shared it was his relationship with The Chapel at Crosspoint and the communication style of Pastor Jerry Gillis that brought him to faith three years prior and that continues to excite him about living for Jesus.

Other highlights included the Social Justice Experience tent where attendees were able to see first hand what poverty, human trafficking and other social ills look like in hopes of inspiring them to work to fight against the injustice of the world.

On top of that, concerts by MercyMe, Jason Upton, Skillet, and many more brought people from across NY, PA, Canada, and beyond to take part in Western New York's largest Christian Music Festival. More to come on this year's event next week.

The 411 on Kingdom Bound 2010

Q & A with Mark Weber

Kingdom Bound is this weekend, August 1-4 on the grounds of Darien Lake Theme Park. We talked with Mark Weber recently about what's new for this year's event.

Q: Let's talk music line-up first. Matt Redman is new to Kingdom Bound, I understand. You've got MercyMe, one of the hottest acts who hasn't been here for several years. And favorites of this area, Newsboys and tobyMac. How should people navigate. How should they pick who to see, especially of the other music venues such as the Park and Worship stages. Are there up-and-coming acts to watch out for?

Matt Redman is one of the acts to look for at Kingdom Bound 2010A: Matt Redman is known for having written many of the songs many American Christians sing in their churches on Sunday mornings. Kingdom Bound also have other notable songwriters coming this year, including Paul Baloche, Lenny LeBlanc, Robin Mark and Kathryn Scott. The festival's "Worship Tent," where many singer-songwriters perform, is kind of like a Sunday morning church experience, except it's outdoors, at an amusement park, and you're able to hear some of the world's most famous "praise and worship" leaders singing and playing instruments right in front of you, live and in person. 

 I ended up writing an article and posting it on my site RochesterChristian.net where I talk about what a person could conceivably do during four days at the festival. Because there's "something going on" in multiple places at the same time during the festival, you can't be everywhere at once, so I recommend a person goes to kingdombound.org to view the festival schedule and plan out their daily itinerary. They can also get a guide at the park, where they can read details about who's who and where they'll be, at what time. You could also take the laid-back approach and just wander the park, discovering different artists and speakers without knowing anything beforehand-- that might be fun. As for up-and-coming acts to watch out for, I've been hearing good things about a band named Bluetree, so I might have to check them out for myself. They're from Northern Ireland, and have a song called "God of this City" which has made a big impact in the Christian world recently.

Q: On the tweenfront, Mission Six, I saw on the site, is called by some the Christian Jonas Brothers, and I see they are played on Radio Disney and take part on the iShine show. How did the tween tent develop and give us some other highlights?

A: Kingdom Bound is a festival for all ages, so it's important to have music that connects with different people in different ways. In the past, Kingdom Bound has brought in "God Rocks" and "VeggieTales," appealing to little kids with colorful costumes, dances, and lyrics they can sing-along to. Thie year, the opportunity to have Mission Six come happened, so it's a chance for many Western New York kids to see this band of young boys live and in person for the first time. They'll be at the Park Stage near the Ride of Steel coaster on Tuesday, Aug. 3, at 3:30pm. In addition, the return of "Bibleman," a superhero, is something kids can look forward to seeing at the festival Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night at 7pm, this summer; it has been a while since Bibleman came to our area.

Q: For kids, there's a daily tent, plus Bibleman. How's that work? Is it more of a VBS-type atmosphere?

A: Yes, I would say it is kind of like Vacation Bible School. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, from 11am - 12:30pm, the Wesleyan Church of Hamburg's Children's Ministry Team will teach kids ages 4-8 the Word of God thru age-appropriate games and activities.

Q: What are some of the speakers that people need to watch out for? On your site videos Brett Ullman, Laura Peterbridge and Mike Shreve are some of those noted. Navigate the schedule some for us.

A: Kingdom Bound has some amazing speakers coming this year, talking about topics that are relevant to people. Brett Ullman talks about media and pop culture and how it's affecting youth today. Laura Petherbridge is a nationally-known speaker who helps people deal with life after divorce. Mike Shreve will talk about New Age religions and movements and how they differ from Christianity. If you go to http://www.kingdombound.org/PDF/2010/Seminars_2010_Web.pdf  you can read about the speakers and their topics. Buffalo Bills fans will want to come to the festival on Tuesday, August 3rd, at Noon to hear Jim Kelly and his wife Jill speaking about losing their son Hunter, and how faith matters in their lives. Also, Dr. Kevin Leman, often seen on Good Morning America, will be speaking about family dynamics and relationships. He used to live in Western New York, and has been a popular speaker at Kingdom Bound for many years.

Q: Also what are some of the surprises of the festival -- I didn't know, for example, you could take drawing classes while there.

A: Check out http://www.kingdombound.org/PDF/2010/Seminars_2010_Web.pdf  as you will find details about interesting people there.