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September 2, 2008

Extreme skateboarder Byrne joins the Harvest

By Kelly Young

kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com

Already slated with an internationally known headlining artist in KJ-52 and local Christian bands Considered Rubbish and Mud Creek Revival providing the entertainment for this year’s Harvest Fest, event organizers decided they wanted to add something a little different to this year’s rally.

That something was professional freestyle skateboarder Tim Byrne.

A one-man show, Byrne has been traveling the world for the past seven years using his skills on the skateboard to evangelize in the name of Jesus. He has been featured on both of Stephen Baldwin’s Christian skateboarding DVDs, “Livin It” and “Livin It LA.”

“We were looking for something new we could do to help reach different groups of people, and I think Tim is a pretty good guy to use to do that. He can do some really amazing things on a skateboard,” said Vincent Lankford, creator of Harvest Fest. “He is going to be performing outside the Tomato Bowl at 5 p.m., before the music starts, as an attention-getter. He tours a lot and has performed with a lot of top bands.”

Byrne combines his love for God with his love for skateboarding to both entertain and share the gospel.

“When I accepted Jesus as my lord and savior, it changed me so much that I want nothing more than to share that message,” Byrne said. “My vision is to allow God’s spirit to move us in such a way that it raises up a generation of revolutionaries who truly live their lives surrendered to Jesus.”

Lankford said Stephen James, youth pastor at Central Baptist Church, has been instrumental in booking Byrne for this year’s event. He said several East Texas churches have stepped up in support of the Harvest Fest this year.

“Last year it was mainly businesses that helped us out, but this year a lot of churches have gotten on board and are supporting us. First Baptist Church in Maydelle, Central Baptist Church, Woodland Heights Baptist Church, Grace Fellowship Church in Tyler and Lake Area Church in Frankston have all really pitched in and gotten involved this year,” he said.

Harvest Fest has grown in each of its six years, with an estimated 725 attending last year’s rally when Christian pop star Krystal Meyers performed. Lankford said he expects KJ-52’s popularity to draw new people to the event this year.

“We are really blessed to have KJ. He really seems to want to be a part of this; he cut his price down considerably so we could afford him and he even agreed to take a longer airplane flight just to save us some money,” Lankford said. “He really has a heart for young people, and I think the fact that we are a totally free event shows him where everybody’s heart is in doing this.”

This year’s speaker will be Leighton Flowers, youth evangelism director for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. He directs a statewide youth leadership training camp called Super Summer each year, and also leads the Youth Evangelism Conference.

Harvest Fest 2008 will begin at 6 p.m. Sept. 27 inside the Tomato Bowl. As always, there is no admission; and free raffle tickets will be given to each attendee.

Lankford and the other organizers have set up a Harvest Fest myspace page for the first time this year. The page includes all the information about this year’s events and includes links to the sites of the performers.

“Our goal is to be more than just a concert; it’s an outreach, a way to bring people to God. Music is great, but the whole point is to have music with a message,” he said. “We want to reach people and bring them together because we all have the goal of seeing lost people saved. There’s really nothing like it in our area, and I think having a free, Christian event is a great thing for our community.”

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