Adventists make impact at Australian Gospel Music Festival

Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | 18.04.2004 | ANN-Australia/APD | International

Seventh-day Adventists had a strong presence at the Australian Gospel Music Festival (AGMF) in Toowoomba, Queensland, over Easter. Adventist musicians, stall holders, worship service coordinators and volunteers were all part of the festival, which in its sixth year has grown to become the largest of its kind in Australia. More than 30,000 people attended AGMF over three days.

The up-front Adventists were the musicians, including "ep" (Endless Praise) returning for a second year, children's music group Rocfish returning after missing last year's festival and first-timers Serendipity from the New South Wales Central Coast. Charmaine, back-up singer for AGMF headliner Rebecca St James, also appeared at the festival.

Charmaine, formerly of "ep", has been touring with Ms St James for the past two years and has released her own album. Ms St James left the stage in the middle of her performance to allow Charmaine to perform one of her own songs.

But the Adventist influence was not limited to the festival stages. "Festival organisers met with our board and asked us to contribute to the event," reports Pastor Chris Foote, minister of Westridge Adventist church in Toowoomba. "It's a great opportunity for us to be a part of our community."

Taking up the offer, the two Adventist churches in Toowoomba conducted a health age assessment on a site provided free at the AGMF venue. According to Pastor Neil Marks, director of health ministries for the church in southern Queensland, more than 300 people went through the assessment process. "We've been flat out most of the time."

"There are only a few churches here offering something free to festival goers," says Pastor Foote. "We have something unique to offer."

The Adventist churches are planning to follow-up the contacts they made by offering invitations to cooking, nutrition and stop smoking programs. But the health assessment also provided opportunities for networking.

The Adventist Church's evangelistic magazine, Signs of the Times, was also among the 40 exhibitors at AGMF. "We've had a lot of people come past, who've taken a magazine and then come back and taken some more," says Graham Robertson, a member of the Toowoomba Central Adventist church. "Everybody has a good comment about the magazine."

"This is the first time we've had the opportunity of being here, thanks to the generosity of a Queensland family, who donated the site," adds volunteer Signs ministry coordinator Pastor Des Hills. "We're delighted that about 1300 magazines have been taken, with a brochure inside each magazine explaining what Signs is about and how they can obtain it. It's a positive statement of Christianity and Adventism. We should have been in the marketplaces and other festivals like this years ago."

For the many musicians, events such as AGMF are an opportunity to reach larger audiences as well as to learn from other artists.

"We got good stages--considering we've never been here before," says Serendipity vocalist Joel Turner. "That's been a blessing. The crowds have come in good numbers and we've had a good response. Today was one of our most memorable shows."

"We always see the other bands wherever we play, and it seems that at this festival in particular we've built some strong bonds," says Mr Turner. "It's helpful to have someone to talk to who will understand the experience of working in a band."

For Rocfish, AGMF 2004 was an opportunity to test material for their new album, which they are releasing in June.

In the preparation of their new material, the members of Rocfish have been focusing more on the mission of sharing Jesus with their audiences. "We're feeling as a team drawn to push Jesus even more through what we do on stage," Ms Taylor explains. "We're taking every opportunity at each concert, or anything we do with kids face-to-face, to encourage kids to make Jesus their best friend." [Editor: Nathan Brown for ANN/APD]

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