Crowds take over sanctuary to catch message and show

Ten seconds prior to the opening of the sanctuary doors, I stood in a crowd so dense you couldn’t move a step without bumping into someone. The crowd was ecstatic, with friends calling out to each other attempting to be heard above the noise. People chatted, anticipating the opening off the doors. When at last the doors, opening a sea of people to catch a front row seat.  

This event exceeded my expectations, the sheer amount of people there was overwhelming. About 3,500 people were present from churches all over the Fresno and Clovis area. Two overflow rooms had two be opened to accommodate the massive amount of people.

Preceding the event there was also free food provided by Hume Lake Christian camps, as well as a variety of other activities such as archery tag, bubble soccer and a 30 ft climbing wall. This gave the event a fair like feel that I found to be very enjoyable.

The second part of the event featured Andrew Palau, an accomplished speaker who has spoken to millions of people all around the world. He gave his testimony in which he said that he had tried to find fulfillment in the world and could not. Then after going through hardship he became a Christian. Palau talked about how we need to turn away from the harshness of the world and turn to Jesus.

The main event of the night consisted of a speaker Andrew Palau and two musical performances, one by For All Seasons and the other by Andy Mineo. This helped create an event that was well mixed with more traditional music from For All Season, a message from Andrew Palau and some upbeat rap from Andy Mineo.

The first part of the event was some worship from the band For All Seasons. They sang a variety of songs such as ‘This is Amazing Grace’ and ‘Ever Be’. I enjoyed this section of the concert as I knew many of the songs and could just enjoy the moment.

The lead singer of the group, Emily Hamilton talked about how the movement is important to the community.

“We have had the privilege of being a part of The Movement for the last three years” Hamilton said. “Seeing the churches from all over the city of Fresno and Clovis coming together for the commonality of Jesus. So students and really anybody that is coming to this event has the opportunity to bring friends that don’t know the lord and to expose them to the gospel.”     

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The final part of the event was a performance by Andy Mineo. This was definitely the most hyped part of the concert. Mineo performed a collection of different songs such as You Can’t Stop Me and Uno Uno Seis. Mineo excelled at getting the audience to interact and this set a party like atmosphere.

Andy Mineo shared his thoughts on the Movement and it’s importance.

“I think it’s important when people come together for the purpose of helping trying to help share faith and hope with other people,” Mineo said. “When it’s put together excellently and easily accessible to lots of people there’s always good reason for that to happen. I just want to go out there and do what I do and hopefully that assists in the bigger picture of the night, I was called in to just use my gifts to facilitate this bigger event.”

This has was a very memorable event and I look forward to next year’s movement in great anticipation. If you attended this event I encourage you to leave your thoughts on your experience.

Spiritual community gathers for free concert and food

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This writer can be reached via email: Matthew Sue.