Dear Friends: We had an AWESOME Carman crusade/concert on Thursday, July 10 at Tolland High School. We're already working on bringing Carman back to the Region soon! The following Saturday, July 12, we held a downsized JesusFest in downtown Rockville for the first time, entirely within the four walls of historic Union Congregational Church. In years past, we had been at the Tolland County Agricultural Center in Vernon. JesusFest 2008 was our baby step forward in gradually morphing the celebration from a suburban country fair into an urban block party. We had a great time, albeit with much smaller attendance than in previous years. As I closed JesusFest 2008, I stepped to the podium to deliver a Gospel message and share my perspective on the day. Here is the jist of my message: TRANSPLANTING Closing Remarks by Drew Crandall Wow, today has been "Sister Act" day here at Union Congregational Church. A breakthrough day. This church, and all of our volunteers from various area churches, have been terrific. When I was a kid, my mom was into gardening. Do we have any gardeners in the audience today? * There were times when Mom would transplant something from one spot to another. Maybe it was simply creative flair. As she looked down at her garden, she made a creative choice. That’s all it was. * Sometimes it was because she needed to make room for new plants or other growing plants. * Sometimes it was because she knew that for the benefit of the plant, it needed to be transplanted to be healthier. When I was a kid, I was transplanted several times in the Tri-State area. We would move from one town and state to another town and state. We didn’t have advance notice. My dad would come home from work and tell us we’re moving. Whether you’re a plant or a person, being transplanted is an uncomfortable process. It’s a journey. Once you’re transplanted, it takes time to adjust to new soil. There’s some pain during the transplanting process. Over a period of about seven months, Jacob’s Well Christian Coffeehouse was transplanted from Ellington to Rockville. There were some mysteries and challenges during the process, but God transplanted Jacob’s Well for His reasons and now it’s going great—better than ever! I invite you to join us on Friday, August 1 at 7 pm for our next coffeehouse featuring Beyond the Veil. (See www.JacobsWellCoffeehouse.com for details.) Over a period of about seven months, we’ve been transplanting JesusFest from the Tolland County Agricultural Center to downtown Rockville. Today, JesusFest was placed in the physical and cultural soil of Rockville. It’s different soil than a few miles away. The transplanting process may be more challenging than some may have thought. We didn’t fill the place as we had hoped. Emotionally, I am disappointed that more people didn't join us today. But in the Spirit, I know that we have transplanted JesusFest. Now that it’s transplanted, JesusFest can now grow in its new soil, into an urban block party. Time will tell. We could have kept JesusFest at the Tolland County Agricultural Center, but I believe the Lord led us to transplant JesusFest here. We trust He will do what He wants with it in the days ahead. We’ve been faithful. It reminds me of the very first JesusFest in 2002. God was planting something new at the Tolland County Agricultural Center, and like any new plant, it needed lots of water. We got it! It poured all day Friday during setup, and it poured all day Saturday during our first festival, from start to finish. After a year of preparation, we had prayed for good weather. But God’s ways are not our ways. It would have been so easy to have given up after that first year. People looked at me and asked, “are you disappointed?” Humanly, yes. In the Holy Spirit, no. We didn’t give up, and JesusFest grew from about 2,000 that first year to 4,000 to 6,000 to 8,000. We enjoyed days of good weather. And then, God chose to pick up JesusFest and move it to Rockville. Be of good cheer, we’re on this JesusFest journey together. If this is God's Will for JesusFest, then He will bring it to pass in His time and in His way. He is the vine, we are the branches. Without Him, we can do nothing. Now as we close JesusFest 2008, I wonder if your soul has been transplanted from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light. That transplanting begins with the New Birth. The moment that you trust Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you are supernaturally forgiven of your sins, washed by the blood of the Lamb, baptized by the living waters of the Holy Spirit, and given the awesome gift of eternal life in heaven. Once your soul is transplanted from the soil of sin and darkness into the soil of God’s righteousness and light Kingdom, your new life is a journey of new growth and maturity. I invite you to make the choice today, to let God transplant you. You cannot do it in your own power, works or strength. It is by grace through faith in Christ and in Him alone. Thanks for coming today, and God Willing we will see you next year! Drew Crandall Founder/Chairman JesusFest