Feed Your Faith to Produce DecembeRadio LIVE Concert DVD

Written by Rick on February 21, 2010 — Leave a Comment

(Originally posted Sept. 04, 2009) – KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On Friday, October 2, 2009, Feed Your Faith welcomes GRAMMY-nominated Christian recording artists DecembeRadio to Knoxville for a one-night only concert at Faith Promise Church.  The concert will be a special concert DVD recording session for the band and those who attend will be in DecembeRadio’s nationally-distributed live concert DVD for their new “Love Can” tour.

Tickets to the DecembeRadio “Love Can” DVD recording concert are just $10 (and groups of ten or more can purchase tickets for only $5 each).  The concert also features special guests Sevenglory and Sarah Reeves.

Ask anyone who has ever been to a DecembeRadio show to describe the experience and you’ll get an enthusiastic barrage of comments about the band’s blistering stage show and an adrenaline-fueled rock spectacle that leaves audiences nearly breathless. Yet intertwined among the searing guitars and anthemic choruses, the heart of the band shines through on every note.  It’s that unwavering commitment to spread the Gospel that defines the essence of DecembeRadio and reverberates throughout their sophomore set “Satisfied.”

Feed Your Faith presents DecembeRadio LIVE !!

“God has called us to do this and we know that,” says guitarist Eric Miker. “Every time we play a show we hear how our songs have impacted people. We’ve had people come up to us after the show and say, ‘This song is what made me realize that no matter what it was that I was going through, I could turn back to God.’ They just need to hear the words.”

Few bands more effectively fuse music and ministry than this Virginia-based foursome. Miker along with lead vocalist/bassist Josh Reedy, lead guitarist Brian Bunn and drummer Boone Daughdrill burst onto the national scene with their self-titled Slanted Records’ debut in 2006. The project was nominated for a GRAMMY for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album and earned the group four Dove Award nominations, including nods in the Best New Artist category and Song of the Year for “Drifter.” That night the band claimed their first Dove Award when DecembeRadio was honored for Rock Album of the Year, an impressive feat for a new band.

Youth groups purchasing 10 or more tickets to the DVD recording session will be entered to win front-row seats (for the entire youth group) and a pre-concert dinner backstage with the band.

For the past three years, Feed Your Faith has been bringing the best and brightest Christian speakers, authors and performing artists to East Tennessee to feed the faithful while raising tens of thousands of dollars for local charieties.  The Feed Your Faith DecembeRadio “Love Can” concert at Faith Promises Church will begin at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.) at 10740 Faith Promises Lane in Knoxville (just off the Pellissippi Parkway).

For more information, or to order tickets to the Feed Your Faith “Love Can” concert DVD recording session with DecembeRadio, visit www.FeedYourFaith.org.

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Feed Your Faith Marriage Conference featuring Kirk Cameron and Warren Barfield Now Available on DVD

Written by Rick on February 21, 2010 — Leave a Comment

(Originally posted Aug 21, 2009) – KNOXVILLE, Tenn.  – The Feed Your Faith Marriage Conference featuring Kirk Cameron and Warren Barfield is now available on DVD.  On July 18, 2009, thousands of people from six states attended the conference at Sevier Heights Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Because the event sold out months in advance, Feed Your Faith is offering the video for those who could not attend or simply want to share it with others.  Over a two-day period, 9,000 people came to see Kirk Cameron and Warren Barfield in Knoxville.

The three-disk set includes the Feed Your Faith Marriage Conference with Kirk Cameron plus the musical performance of Warren Barfield, who sang the hit song “Love Is Not A Fight” from the FIREPROOF movie starring Kirk Cameron.  As an added bonus, Cameron’s sermon from Sunday morning July 19, 2009 at Sevier Heights Baptist Church is also included on the DVD.

For the past three years, Feed Your Faith has been bringing the best and brightest Christian speakers, authors and performing artists to East Tennessee to feed the faithful while raising tens of thousands of dollars for local homeless ministries.  The Feed Your Faith Marriage Conference in July raised more than $14,000 for Family Promise of Blount County.

For more information, or to order a copy of the Feed Your Faith Marriage Conference DVD, visit www.FeedYourFaith.org.

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Daily Times: Feed Your Faith gives large donation to Family Promise

Written by Rick on February 21, 2010 — Leave a Comment

(Originally Published in The Daily Times July 30, 2009 by reporter Joel Davis) — MARYVILLE, Tenn. — Local Christian charity Feed Your Faith has donated $14,277 to the new Family Promise of Blount County program. The money was raised at the Feed Your Faith Marriage Conference featuring actor Kirk Cameron at Sevier Heights Baptist Church on July 18.

Kirk Cameron speaks at the Feed Your Faith Marriage Conference

“Feed Your Faith was started to bring thought-provoking Christian speakers, authors and musicians to East Tennessee so we could raise money for those in need,” said founder Mike Williams. “Family Promise embodies everything we wanted to support with our ministry, and we’re pleased to know this event will continue to touch people’s lives through the marriage conference and the great things Family Promise of Blount County does right here in our community.”

The new Family Promise of Blount County program allows local churches to provide overnight accommodations and meals for homeless families on a rotating basis.

“We at Family Promise of Blount County are so grateful to Feed Your Faith and the ministry they are providing in East Tennessee,” Executive Director Mandy Stinnett Adkins said. “The generous donation will serve families in need in Blount County.”

Feed Your Faith is currently finalizing plans for a number of upcoming events including a major men’s conference and another concert event. All proceeds from Feed Your Faith events go to local charities. During the past three-and-a-half years, Feed Your Faith has raised tens of thousands of dollars for local charities including Compassion Coalition, Family Promise, School of Hope and Knox Area Rescue Ministries.

Cross-denominational mission

The local churches that have agreed to participate in the Family Promise network so far are Beech Grove Baptist Church, Carpenter’s Campground United Methodist Church, Fairview United Methodist Church, First Baptist Church-Maryville, First United Methodist Church of Maryville, Forest Hill Baptist Church, Friendsville First Baptist Church, Monte Vista Baptist Church, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, St. Paul Lutheran Church and Sycamore Tree United Methodist Church.

(L to R) Feed Your Faith co-director Rick Laney, Kirk Cameron and Feed Your Faith founder Mike Williams

There are several support churches, whose members have agreed to provide volunteers and other support to the program, as well: Alcoa First United Methodist Church, Bethel Baptist Church, Broadway United Methodist Church, Embassy Christian Center, Friendsville United Methodist Church, Highland Presbyterian Church, New Providence Presbyterian Church, Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, Peck’s Memorial United Methodist Church and St. John’s United Methodist Church.

Green Meadow United Methodist Church serves as the day center for the program, giving families a place to stay during the day while they look for housing and work. The day center provides a stable telephone number, mailing address and a base of operations for participants.

If 13 churches participated, each church would host from three to five families for a week each quarter. Budgets for each church would be between $200 and $250 each week.

The average stay for families in Family Promise programs nationwide is 52 days. Ideally, the families are in the program for no more than three months. The families are required to seek employment and housing. Failure to work toward independence means termination from the program. Families are referred to Family Promise through the school systems, social services and various nonprofit organizations.

To make a referral to Family Promise, community members can contact Family Promise at (865) 233-4737.

Copyright 2009 The Daily Times

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WVLT-TV Covers the Feed Your Faith Marriage Conference with Kirk Cameron and Warren Barfield

Written by Rick on February 20, 2010 — Leave a Comment

Sara Shookman (WVLT)

(Originally aired on CBS Television on July 18, 2009 by reporter Sara Shookman) KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — More than half of marriages in this country end in divorce.

But a big event here hopes to keep it from happening in Knoxville by “feeding your faith.”

After being inspired by the movie Fireproof, David and Rose Rutledge, and more than 3,500 others turned out to hear movie star turned evangelist Kirk Cameron offer a few words of advice.

The Rutledges are new to marriage.

But like the rest of the crowd at Sevier Heights Baptist Church, they came to find out how to keep their relationship alive.

“It’s been awesome so far and we want to make sure it stays awesome, so we’ve been going to different marriage conventions and reading books together,” says David Rutledge.

Organizer Rick Laney says, “There is a built in audience in East Tennessee for that type of message, needless to say. Anytime you have a 50 percent of marriages failing, there’s some level of need for the message of building stronger marriages.”

North Carolina-born songwriter Warren Barfield contributed.

“Even here in the bible belt, i still think people take marriage very lightly. A lot of people view it as the next step,” says Barfield.

But the message was good marriages take work and a lot of time.

Cameron says spending more time together is essential — down to the minute.

“It’s a daily loving and treasuring and honoring kind of a thing. Those are hard things to hear, hard things to admit that you’re not doing. And even harder things to change.”

Cameron suggests 15 minutes a day, one evening a week, one day a month and a weekend a year.

Amy and Chris Mathews of Knoxville say that could be a challenge.

“I don’t know that we can do that, but I think if you just make a conscious effort to change and spend that time. No other distractions, just each other, it would be nice,” says Amy.

The Rutledges have their own goals as they prepare for family life to begin.

“Do more for her. Make an active effort to go out of my way,” says David.

“Try to be more understanding. A little more patient and less emotional. Just taking it one day at a time,” says Rose.

Feed your Faith aims to bring Christian leaders to East Tennessee to raise money for local charities.

All proceeds from the event will benefit Family Promise of Blount County.

Watch the entire WVLT report here.

Copyright 2009 WVLT-TV Knoxville

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Knoxville News Sentinel: Feed Your Faith event raises funds to help the hurting

Written by Rick on February 20, 2010 — Leave a Comment

(From the Knoxville News Sentinel, July 25, 2009 by Nancy Twigg) — “I’m just a regular guy with a wife and six kids trying to honor God in the trenches of life,” actor Kirk Cameron told the audience at the Feed Your Faith Marriage Conference Saturday, July 18, at Sevier Heights Baptist Church in Southwest Knoxville.

Following the Feed Your Faith Marriage Conference at Sevier Heights Baptist Church, Kirk Cameron signs copies of his book “Still Growing” for Keli Hodges, center, and Melissa Watson.

Cameron may seem as ordinary as the guy next door, but as the star of the 1980s sitcom, “Growing Pains,” the “Left Behind” film series and last year’s “Fireproof,” he is anything but average. Besides having an impressive acting career, he is also an outspoken Christian. Cameron led both an afternoon and evening conference last Saturday which drew a combined crowd of almost 4,000.

Attendees listened as Cameron used examples from “Fireproof” and his own 18-year marriage to actress Chelsea Noble to explain biblical principles for building a strong marriage. Repeatedly Cameron stressed the importance of first submitting to God before trying to fix what is broken in the marriage.

“Only God can transform the human heart,” explains Cameron. “It’s not about getting a new spouse. It’s about asking God to use you to be a vessel of change in your home.”

The highlight of each conference came when Cameron extended an invitation for couples wishing to pray for their marriages to come forward. As Cameron prayed, more couples kneeled and huddled together at the front of the sanctuary than remained in their seats.

That kind of response was exactly what Feed Your Faith founder Mike Williams had hoped for. When he started the nonprofit group in 2006, he had two objectives in mind: help Christians grow in their faith and help those in need.

“My family moved here from Seattle in 2001. I had been exposed to seeing Christian speakers and concerts quite regularly there,” explains Williams, a nuclear reactor operator at Oak Ridge National Laboratories. “I found there weren’t many Christian speakers coming to Knoxville. I decided I wanted to have speakers come and then donate the proceeds to good causes, especially those that help the homeless.”

Later that year, Williams joined forces with Rick Laney, an account executive for Ackermann Public Relations in Knoxville. As a two-man volunteer operation, they keep expenses low in order to donate as much as possible to the charities Feed Your Faith supports.

“We joke that Feed Your Faith offices are in my bedroom and Mike’s basement,” says Laney. “After each event, we cover all expenses and then we zero out the checkbook. All proceeds go to the charities.”

The benefactor of the Cameron marriage conference will be Family Promise of Blount County. Family Promise is a national organization that works with local churches to help homeless families get back on their feet. After all conference expenses are paid, Feed Your Faith expects to donate more than $10,000 to Family Promise.

In three years of operation, Feed Your Faith has hosted nine different events and raised tens of thousands of dollars for area ministries including Knox Area Rescue Ministries and Second Harvest Food Bank. Williams and Laney put in many hours to make these events happen. Why do they work so hard?

“When Mike was out in Seattle struggling with a young family and was approached by homeless people, he’d always give something – snack foods, energy bars, money if he had it,” explains Laney. “Mike is truly one of those people who has a heart for those in need.”

“Homelessness hits me the hardest because I have kids,” adds Williams. “I can’t imagine how hard it would be to have my kids out on the streets.”

The News Sentinel is profiling East Tennessee ministries in 2009. Please send suggestions to features@knoxnews.com. Nancy Twigg is a freelance contributor to the News Sentinel.

Copyright 2009 Knoxville News Sentinel

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