[00:00:01] Speaker A: Get a book now.
Yeah.
[00:00:05] Speaker B: I feel that joy in the Lord tonight.
[00:00:09] Speaker C: Here we go. So, Chris, what are we doing in the show today?
[00:00:12] Speaker A: We're gonna be doing a few things, but the primary thing is this.
You know what they say the most powerful thing in the world is?
[00:00:20] Speaker C: What?
[00:00:21] Speaker A: Stories.
[00:00:21] Speaker C: A story. Absolutely.
[00:00:22] Speaker A: Stories.
[00:00:23] Speaker C: We have so many.
[00:00:24] Speaker A: Joseph Campbell said that.
[00:00:26] Speaker C: Who's Joseph Campbell?
[00:00:27] Speaker A: So did Tyrion Lannister.
[00:00:29] Speaker D: So you have to re.
[00:00:30] Speaker C: Like if you're gonna.
[00:00:31] Speaker A: And Donald Miller. They all said it.
[00:00:33] Speaker C: You're so much smarter than me.
[00:00:34] Speaker A: I'm.
[00:00:35] Speaker C: These.
[00:00:35] Speaker A: These aren't my books.
[00:00:36] Speaker C: References. You gotta put some content. I have no clue who that person is. Put some context to it.
[00:00:40] Speaker A: You know the soup.
[00:00:41] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:00:42] Speaker A: Nothing.
[00:00:43] Speaker E: I laid it.
[00:00:45] Speaker C: I'm not bad.
[00:00:47] Speaker A: But anyway, so we got some stories coming up from insiders, some people at the festival from 2025. This year will be 26. What year of the festival is this?
[00:00:57] Speaker C: 2026 will be our 40th year.
[00:01:00] Speaker F: 40.
[00:01:00] Speaker C: Yeah, so. Are you kidding? Yeah, 40.
[00:01:03] Speaker B: 40.
[00:01:04] Speaker C: I tell people that Kingdom.
[00:01:05] Speaker B: How old are you?
[00:01:07] Speaker C: I'm 46. So it was. So I was.
[00:01:09] Speaker A: You started this when you were six?
[00:01:11] Speaker B: I wish.
[00:01:12] Speaker C: That'd be awesome if I had. Yeah, I. I went when. I think 1991 was the first time I went.
[00:01:18] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:01:19] Speaker C: So Kingdom Bound, I tell people in the festival every summer, is like a big family reunion because a lot of the same people keep coming.
A lot of people keep coming. And so we have in today's episode. Yeah, just some, like you said, some amazing stories of people who have been coming to Kingdom Bound for a long time, who we kind of consider part of the Kingdom Bound family. So that's what we got in our show today that you can look forward to. But, Chris, on this day, I know what happened.
You know what happened in Christian music history on this day?
[00:01:50] Speaker A: No, you're gonna have to tell me.
[00:01:52] Speaker C: I didn't think you did.
Because these bands were bands that. That came and went before you even were thought of.
[00:01:59] Speaker A: How high were their hair?
[00:02:00] Speaker C: They were pretty high. 80s. Like metal. Like glamour. Christian glamour rock.
[00:02:05] Speaker A: Res band was the leather type. Ooh.
[00:02:10] Speaker C: Resurrection band and Striper on this day shared the stage.
[00:02:16] Speaker A: The same stage, the same. It was the only time that it ever happened, though, isn't it?
[00:02:20] Speaker C: First and only time in his Res
[00:02:22] Speaker A: band is Strife for you.
[00:02:24] Speaker C: Rez band.
[00:02:25] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:02:25] Speaker A: They got that song about hell to
[00:02:28] Speaker C: hell with the devil.
[00:02:30] Speaker A: There it is. Yeah.
[00:02:32] Speaker C: Hell with the devil in my leather pants this day in history.
[00:02:40] Speaker A: Striper.
[00:02:41] Speaker C: All right, so before we get to those amazing stories, as usual, this podcast would not be possible without our amazing friends at Elon Fellowship and Kevin Neville and all the hard work that they're putting in as me saying thank you. So let's check out this video from them.
[00:02:56] Speaker B: What a blessing to be in this conference.
[00:02:58] Speaker D: I'm grateful to be a part of this family and to be a part
[00:03:01] Speaker A: of what God is doing.
[00:03:17] Speaker G: This is a place of transformation. So just being around the presence of
[00:03:21] Speaker F: the Lord is an opportunity to change
[00:03:22] Speaker G: and it's just no greater place to be.
[00:03:25] Speaker C: The lives that have been changed, the
[00:03:28] Speaker D: prophetic flow over individuals in the services.
[00:03:31] Speaker B: This thing is so anointed.
[00:03:34] Speaker A: It's been a really powerful experience.
[00:03:38] Speaker C: God is.
[00:03:39] Speaker A: I think he's sowing the seeds of
[00:03:40] Speaker C: revival in the fellowship again. I see it everywhere I look, reaffirming
[00:03:45] Speaker B: the call to ministry on my life.
[00:03:50] Speaker H: So come on out and mark your calendar for 2026.
[00:03:58] Speaker A: It's a pond in the middle of the desert.
An oasis. 2026.
[00:04:05] Speaker C: That's what ELO means.
[00:04:06] Speaker A: Now they. They owe me a little bit of money for that jingle now.
[00:04:10] Speaker C: Oh, you made that up off the
[00:04:11] Speaker A: top of your head right now.
[00:04:12] Speaker C: I thought that was a striper song.
[00:04:13] Speaker A: Oh.
[00:04:17] Speaker C: So Chris, there's always stuff going on with Kingdom Bound.
[00:04:20] Speaker A: Yes, there is.
[00:04:20] Speaker C: Good. In our last podcast.
[00:04:22] Speaker A: And guess what about a very cool man. Pastor, singer, songwriter quote, sir, that's chorus director, choir directory info.
[00:04:32] Speaker C: Give us the inside scoop.
[00:04:33] Speaker F: Torrin Wells related.
[00:04:36] Speaker A: Wells Oasis.
[00:04:39] Speaker C: You're doing too much water.
[00:04:41] Speaker A: Anyways, Torren Wells is coming in April 8th and he'll be here at Revive Westland in Hamburg, New York. Beautiful church, beautiful place. It's going to be fun, going to be wild, going to be high energy. Amazing Message with Jamie McDonald up and
[00:04:58] Speaker C: coming star Geo G O.
Cool people.
[00:05:02] Speaker A: Geo. Okay.
[00:05:04] Speaker C: Also, we're just a couple weeks away from our price increase, so if you're planning on going to the festival this summer in July, make sure you go to kingdombound.org to get your torn Wells tickets. But also get your festival tickets before
[00:05:16] Speaker A: they get hiked up more weeks.
[00:05:18] Speaker C: March 31 is the last day that you can get tickets.
[00:05:21] Speaker A: I bought them on daylight savings savings cuz I saved.
[00:05:24] Speaker C: Yeah, well, you were smart then.
[00:05:25] Speaker A: I was smart, but you can still be smart.
[00:05:27] Speaker C: Sleep. You lost an hour of sleep, but you bought your tickets.
[00:05:31] Speaker A: I don't like n.
Okay, bye.
[00:05:35] Speaker B: See you later.
[00:05:37] Speaker C: Another thing that I wanted to talk about is something I'm really excited about. We have a a speaker coming to the festival this year for the first time. We've Ever had him. I heard him first at Sat and he blew me away. He knows the word. Super, convicting, inspiring, funny, energetic. His name's Kenan Clark.
Younger. Younger speaker. Really good.
[00:06:01] Speaker A: Like, with a name like that, how can you not be right? You're destined.
[00:06:05] Speaker D: Where are the Davids?
Where are the Ezekiels?
Where are the Shadrachs and the Meshachs and the Abednegos? Where are the. Where are the Daniels who will abandon the plagues and the passions and the promises and the accolades of this world so that they can live fully devoted? Not on Sunday, not on Wednesday night, not when a camera's rolling and it might go viral, but in the privacy when no one's watching. They say, God, would you grab me? Would you use me? Would you set me apart?
Where are they?
[00:06:44] Speaker C: As soon as I heard them at Saturate, I texted the folks at Kingdom Bound. I said, we gotta get this guy to the festival. So Keenan Clark is going to be one of our speakers. He's going to be a great addition to the people that we have had the last couple years. Marcus McFoling, who does an amazing job of just connecting with the next generation, always does a great job in the kids tent and the main stage as well. And then the tried and true Reggie Dams. That guy still has it. He still gets it done.
[00:07:14] Speaker A: He's a cool dude. I remember seeing him once when I think I was seventh grade. I think I was in. It was in the wintertime somewhere. I think maybe in Niagara Falls.
[00:07:23] Speaker E: Probably.
[00:07:23] Speaker C: Probably. Joshua Revolution.
[00:07:24] Speaker A: Probably.
Did they call that J.R.
j.
Resolution? No. Revolution.
Yeah.
[00:07:32] Speaker C: Two different things.
[00:07:34] Speaker A: I just am still thinking about my resolutions that I haven't kept from three or four months ago.
[00:07:39] Speaker C: They say the second Friday in January is when everyone gives up. Yeah.
[00:07:44] Speaker A: Well, we're quite a distance from that, aren't we?
[00:07:46] Speaker C: Anyway, Reggie, babs in your 80s, so.
[00:07:48] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:07:51] Speaker A: Renaissance man.
[00:07:52] Speaker F: Okay.
[00:07:53] Speaker A: Seventh grade, I'm sitting in the seats with my dad and my brothers and some guys from church, you know, and he's up there doing his thing and he intros something that we're supposed to respond. And me being seventh grade, you know, I definitely did the.
[00:08:07] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:08:08] Speaker A: Thing, like, lowered my voice.
[00:08:09] Speaker G: Your voice?
[00:08:10] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:10] Speaker E: Then.
[00:08:10] Speaker A: Then he totally instantly called all of us who were that age out. He's like, I know all you middle school boys just went, yeah. Instead of yeah. And I was like, oh. He just called me out, that guy.
[00:08:22] Speaker F: So that's.
[00:08:23] Speaker A: That's my experience with Reggie Dabs. Still hold a grudge?
[00:08:27] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:08:27] Speaker C: You still have scars.
[00:08:28] Speaker F: That's A.
[00:08:29] Speaker C: That's a long time to remember. Yeah, well, he's still good.
[00:08:32] Speaker D: He's so good.
[00:08:33] Speaker C: We love him at Kingdom Bound.
We bring them in every year. We try every year and we've had them at the schools in Buffalo, but yeah, still gets the job done.
[00:08:41] Speaker A: Good man.
[00:08:42] Speaker C: Super excited. Keenan Clark, Marcus McFoling, Reggie Dabs are three main speakers at Kingdom Bound. So make sure you get your
[email protected] for the before the price increase.
[00:08:54] Speaker A: March, March 31st.
[00:08:55] Speaker C: And make sure you get it for the torn Wells concert, April 8.
[00:09:04] Speaker A: Revive.
[00:09:05] Speaker C: Revive in Hamburg.
[00:09:06] Speaker A: Yeah, I feel revived.
[00:09:08] Speaker C: I don't know what it. I don't know. This is the last time we're getting coffee before we do the podcast. No.
All right, Chris. So like we said, one of the things we're talking about this episode is we're gonna hear some amazing stories. Stories are powerful people who I consider part of the Kingdom Bound family. Kingdom Bound better off for 40 years. That's true.
[00:09:27] Speaker D: 20, 26 is 40.
[00:09:30] Speaker C: There's a lot of people that have gone for a long time to Kingdom Bound with some amazing stories. So I'm excited to hear some stories and I wanted to share them with you.
[00:09:38] Speaker B: Check it out.
Welcome to another episode of Kingdom Bound Insider. I am your host, Kevin Neville. And we have somebody that's been a long time attender, volunteer leader here at Kingdom Bound.
I'm going to let him introduce himself. Welcome, Kent, to the show.
[00:09:58] Speaker G: Thank you, Kevin.
[00:09:59] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:09:59] Speaker B: Tell us, tell us your name, where you're from.
[00:10:01] Speaker G: I'm Kent Arnath. I'm from Towntown, Oanda, New York. I say Buffalo. I go to New Covenant Church right
[00:10:08] Speaker B: here in Towntown, London. And then what is, what is your position here at Kingdom Met right now?
[00:10:12] Speaker G: I'm doing security.
I'm up by the pack, kind of helping with the front end by the stage.
[00:10:18] Speaker B: Okay. So you're the one to make sure we don't make rush to the backstage and try to watch the show if you go.
And we would deserve it if we did. So good. How was that? How was that this year? Do you. You have a lot of moving parts for that?
[00:10:31] Speaker G: Yep. There is, you know, main thing keeping aisles clear, finding seats for the people.
The first night, last night was a, a good night. It wasn't a heavy, heavy rock, so to speak.
[00:10:42] Speaker A: You're.
[00:10:42] Speaker B: You're kind of working yourself up the skillet.
[00:10:43] Speaker F: Yeah, yeah. At the end.
[00:10:45] Speaker G: And I like it. A lot of times it takes three days to get it to going good and then we're over.
[00:10:48] Speaker F: Yeah, right.
[00:10:49] Speaker B: Right, right.
[00:10:50] Speaker G: It was really good last night though. And Wilson did a fabulous job.
[00:10:53] Speaker C: Oh, yeah?
[00:10:54] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:10:54] Speaker B: Kidney bound's not new to you?
[00:10:55] Speaker G: No.
[00:10:56] Speaker B: So how many years have you been coming?
[00:10:57] Speaker G: Well, I literally stumbled in here in 1996.
That was the first year.
[00:11:02] Speaker B: Yeah. Now, when you say literally stumbled in, you're not being fictitious. Tell us about your journey.
[00:11:08] Speaker G: Well, my wife was coming.
I had nothing to do with it. My brother in law was helping run security with a few other people and Sons of God motorcycle group.
And he called me up and said, come on, we need help doing security.
And I'm a rock and roll guy, you know. And I said, well, Tom, he goes, no, come on, come on, you can help. I said, all right, I'll come on down.
So I wasn't living for the Lord. I wasn't doing things that were pleasing to him.
On my way here, I was not doing what I should have been doing. But I got here and my brother in law pulled me at the front of the stage in front of Carmen that year.
[00:11:42] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, man, Nobody right behind you. You're doing security.
[00:11:46] Speaker G: His feet were right here.
[00:11:47] Speaker B: And you had the gospel preached common style.
[00:11:50] Speaker G: He said, who's in the house? And the house lights go on. And his jc.
It was like, what the heck is going on here? Who are these people? What are they doing?
At that time, I did not realize how much God was moving in my life.
It was. I made it through.
And it just cut to the next year.
Between that year and the next Kingdom moment is when I got saved.
Surrender to Jesus. That next year I got baptized in Apple Lake at Kingdom on.
[00:12:19] Speaker B: Now tell us a bit of that story. How did that come about?
[00:12:22] Speaker G: Well, my brother in law said, come on, let's go do it. I said, if that's what I'm supposed to do, I want to go do it. And we went and did it right there.
[00:12:29] Speaker B: So it wasn't an official thing.
[00:12:30] Speaker E: It wasn't.
[00:12:31] Speaker B: It was just like, hey, it was an official card. You love Jesus. There's some water.
[00:12:35] Speaker G: Yep, let's get to it. And I remember swimming a lap afterwards.
[00:12:39] Speaker E: Yes.
[00:12:39] Speaker G: Everyone said, you went swimming in that place. So thank you, Jesus. So that started my journey.
And every year since then I've been back. I didn't know where Jesus fit in, riding the Hari. I guess I wasn't the most voracious motorcycle rider at that time.
And the Supertones were there that one year. And the drummer came up in between the sets and gave a testimony. He said, you know, listen, everyone in this band used to play in secular bands.
I used to bang on the drums, all for the wrong reason.
He goes, but then I accepted Christ. And he goes, I didn't know what to do with that, what I bang on the drums. And he said he really felt like God spoke to him and said, not what you bang on the drums for, it's who you bang on the drums for.
[00:13:19] Speaker C: I love that.
[00:13:20] Speaker G: And he said, now I bang on the drums for the Lord. And it just really spoke to me about riding my motorcycle. If I can give honor to God, ride my motorcycle and not being arrogant to other people and be blessing people and been praying with people and praise God.
I was able to see Jason, the drummer, the next year, and I shared that with him, how much, what he spoke about the year before. He goes, what did I talk about? I said, you talked about drones and talked to me about motorcycle. He goes, only our God could take that. That I talked about drums to talk to you about riding a motorcycle. And we laughed and said, praise God. So just countless, countless stories of stuff like that. I'd say they're personal touches, like God said, I got you. I'm doing this so many times. And Kingdom Mountain's a huge part of all that. I'll share one more quick story, please. During security in the front of the pack, and I got to see a lot of people. You know, New Covenant used to be a. A lot of people went to New Covenant. A lot of them are going different places, too, and now.
But it seemed like in a matter of about 10 minutes, I saw about probably eight or 10 people that, you know, used to come, still brothers, still sisters in the Lord, still love them.
[00:14:23] Speaker D: And.
[00:14:23] Speaker G: And then the worship started. And I remember just Todd just saying was kind, this is just a. Just a touch what it's going to be like in heaven. It's not going to be about New Covenant. It's not going to be about this church or that. It's going to be about Jesus.
[00:14:34] Speaker E: Amen.
[00:14:34] Speaker G: And you're all going to be celebrating together. And it just gave me such an incredible peace. And of course, I cried my eyes out during that worship song. But that's the picture that God gave me. It's not about one church. It's about all the churches serving him.
And it'll be that day that I'm holding him to it. He says that all who believe would be with him in heaven, in paradise
[00:14:54] Speaker E: with no more pain, no more sorrow, no more.
[00:14:56] Speaker G: No more hot days like this, even though they're nice, just. It's a special Special blessing that God did. One of those things. It's God.
[00:15:04] Speaker B: I got this. We have a great guest that we're going to interview today. He has been at kingdom bound 33 years. I'm going to let him introduce himself and talk about the ministries he's involved in. Welcome to the Kingdom Bound insider.
[00:15:18] Speaker D: Yeah, thank you so much for having me. My name is Steve Tyber. I've been a volunteer here since 1993. Even when I moved away for 20 years to Mississippi, every single year, I didn't miss one. I came back. I love this festival. It's an amazing, family friendly festival. So, yeah, so that's kind of, you know, my passion for Christian music and this festival, let alone at an amusement park, you know, how could you go wrong?
[00:15:41] Speaker B: How could you go wrong, Steve? 33 years ago, correct? 1993 was it?
[00:15:46] Speaker D: Yes, sir.
[00:15:47] Speaker B: What brought you here for the first time?
[00:15:49] Speaker D: I gave my heart to the Lord in 1993. And the founder of Kingdom Bound, Fred Caserta, was going to the same church that I started to go and we just became friends. He said, hey, why don't you come volunteer? You know, I see her working with the youth. Why don't you come volunteer and help out with the youth stage? And I said, man, I'm in. My wife and I have been a part of this since then, so it's been an amazing ride. I now kind of help at the main stage, the pack. Been doing that for about 25 years. And I just love this ministry. My heart bleeds for this ministry. It's a great way for families to be exposed to Christian music and seminars and artists and really have fellowship. And so to me, you know, I travel the country and I've been at other festivals. There's no festival like King, the Bible.
[00:16:36] Speaker G: There's none.
[00:16:36] Speaker B: That's. That's exactly right. But in all those years, you got to have a plethora of stories. What were some of your. Your highlight moments? Do you have anything fresh in your memory?
[00:16:46] Speaker D: You know, I've had a chance to work with all the big name artists, you know, because they all come to the big stage. Right. I'll never forget 15, maybe 20 years ago, Michael W. Smith. You know, people call him Smitty. Smitty.
[00:16:57] Speaker B: He.
[00:16:57] Speaker D: There was a young lady and she was paralyzed and apparently she had asked to meet him. And so we set up a little tent backstage. I'm thinking he's going to be there like for five or ten minutes and move on to the next thing. He literally stayed at her side and her Family for like an hour and a half.
[00:17:15] Speaker F: Wow.
[00:17:15] Speaker D: And he just loved on that family and ministered to the family. And I can think of Reggie dabs some of the altar calls of seeing hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people run to the front of the stage to give their hearts to the Lord, you know, do with a standing applause with it. So there's been so many things over the years, the baptisms that happen here and just the kids experiencing.
You know, when, when I became a believer, I loved music and I, I thought Christian music was holding hands around the campfire singing Kumbaya. That's right. Right. And then you come here and you got skillet and you got, you know, Ben Fuller and we are messengers and Ann Wilson, much variety, you know, of music. Toby Mack, that I'm excited when I see families exposing their kids to this as well.
[00:17:58] Speaker B: And you must have that secondary experience that you get to see them before they go onto the stage when they come off, you get to see how they're living their lives. And that must be a testimony in and of itself.
[00:18:12] Speaker D: Yeah, you know, it's so much fun.
I get excited when I see artists before they even step on stage. You know, pretty. You hold hands at the base of the steps and say one last prayer. And to me they're just getting themselves right. I mean we all have challenges and you try to empty of yourself before you go on that stage so you can sing about God's goodness, his grace, his mercy. And it's been amazing to see the ministry that happens backstage as well. You know, I helped lead this ministry called Eight Days of Hope. It's been around 20 years. Maybe the listeners have heard about it. If not, go to the website 8 Days of Hope.
But you know, we just did a one off outreach in Buffalo, New York this last week. 1811 people from 39 states and four countries came to Buffalo to serve. We saw dozens and dozens of salvations, including the Muslim family who we were serving with free home repairs and they came to meet Jesus this past week. And so yes, we're in Texas helping out with the flood down there. We've been in LA in the last couple months with the fires, of course, flooding in West Virginia, Kentucky and elsewhere. So we're, you know, coast to coast, but so thankful that we get an opportunity to do something here in western New York every year in July.
[00:19:20] Speaker B: Amazing. Eight Days of Hope. Where does the name come from?
[00:19:23] Speaker D: Yeah, the number eight in the Bible means new beginnings. And 20 years ago Katrina hit our country and my dad and I thought it'd be cool to help out a widow or a single mom or an elderly couple and help them rebuild their house and try to rebuild the house in eight days.
That was our plan. It was our smallest outreach ever. But 684 people came with us and we rebuilt 84 homes in just eight days.
And so we formed a non profit. We are now working on our 12,000th home. We have four arms in the ministry. We have a rapid response team that goes right after disaster, a mass feeding team that goes when there's power outages to provide food. We have a rebuilding arm. And that was that first trip. And then we've been building safe places for women and children rescued from sex trafficking. We've built 15 facilities, including the campus in Ohio, the largest campus in the world for teenage girls rescued from trafficking. And we do all this for free, all in the name of Jesus with 60,000 volunteers.
[00:20:18] Speaker B: 60,000. And how do they get a hold of that? Eight days of hope calm.
[00:20:21] Speaker D: Yeah. You can do one of two things. Eight daysofhope.com or you can text the word hope. H O P E to 86373. That number is 86373. Text the word hope and you'll sign up for our texting alerts whenever you travel with us.
[00:20:35] Speaker F: It's free.
[00:20:35] Speaker D: We provide food and lodgings. 8daysofhope.com is the website or on Facebook, Instagram and the YouTube channel as well.
[00:20:42] Speaker B: We got a father and son duo that their history goes all the way back. So we're gonna find out. Guys, welcome to the show.
[00:20:49] Speaker E: Thank you. Thanks for having us here.
[00:20:50] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:20:50] Speaker B: Tell us who you are and where you guys are from.
[00:20:53] Speaker E: My name's Rich Fertin and I'm originally from around here in various places, but now the west side of Cleveland, Ohio.
[00:21:01] Speaker F: Okay. Okay.
[00:21:02] Speaker B: Yeah. My name is Caleb Fortune.
Grew up in Clarence, obviously moved out to Cleveland as well.
[00:21:09] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:21:10] Speaker B: And so you guys make the trip out here every year. Have you been?
[00:21:13] Speaker E: We do.
[00:21:14] Speaker B: How many years have you guys been coming? Which we'll start with you. How many years have you been coming?
[00:21:18] Speaker E: Oh, well, coming to Kingdom Bound, I. I was touring with a Van DeGarmo and key DC talk back in 89, working the pavilions and the seminars and the merch. And I, I've done a lot of different jobs here, so since about 89, 90, I've been here most years.
[00:21:35] Speaker B: Most years. And Caleb, I was joking. Before that you were like bought into this. Yeah. Right. When was the first year you said you, you have the T shirt way back to What, Yale?
[00:21:44] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:21:44] Speaker B: 2009 is kind of the first year that I Remember coming around 2012, I started working back in productions, doing shading or the pro presenting for the main pack stage.
And I remember, like, the park stage, working back there as well, when that used to exist. Now, 2012. How old were you in 2012?
[00:22:03] Speaker F: Wow.
[00:22:05] Speaker B: 2012, I was 12. So at 12 years old, they were throwing you in the production booth and. Well, I was already grandfathered in, so I was.
You were born into this, right? Yeah.
[00:22:16] Speaker E: Caleb and I both come.
We were here Thursday night, too, to set up kind of everything, like the generators and the light poles and getting the trailers in the right place and distributing water to the places it needs to start the big ice chest. So the operations team, before everything starts, you know, everything, right? So the team comes together and we. We set the infrastructure in place, right. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, before everybody gets here, then we've got our respective areas that we just keep things flowing, right. Make sure there's power, make sure there's water, make sure that the artists that come into our area feel the love. Right. I mean, because we.
None of this would happen without the artists and the speakers and the vendor. We wouldn't be anything. So it's part of our job, too, to make sure they feel that appreciation. Right?
[00:23:09] Speaker B: And then that's the name. We're all kingdom bound. We're doing this together on this path. So every sermon that Reggie preaches, there's hundreds of hours of the teams getting it ready so that word of God could go out, has gone out.
And. And when. When the people respond, it's all of. It's all of you guys.
[00:23:28] Speaker G: Awesome.
[00:23:28] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:23:29] Speaker E: Yeah. I mean, you know, I'm not the kind of guy that wants to take credit for a lot of it, but it's. If I. If I was talking to him, I'm going, you're a part of that, right? You did it, right? That's right. I know you're not the preacher. I know you're not the one that's praying with them now, though. You have. Right.
[00:23:43] Speaker B: But for the enablers, for those people, we work with them behind the scenes to make sure that they can spread their message the best they can or. Or do their song the best of their abilities. So we enable those people to get out there and spread the word of God. Though we might not be doing it as much as they are ourselves, but we're enabling those people to go out and spread the word for everybody else. So it's always a team effort. Any Any last thoughts or any last memories you want to share?
[00:24:09] Speaker E: No.
[00:24:10] Speaker B: Thanks for having us on.
[00:24:11] Speaker E: Yeah. I mean, I'm not sure who's listening to this. It could be all kinds of people. Wherever you are, first of all, God loves you, right? God's got a plan for your life. Reach out. But second of all, if you haven't been here and you're, I don't know, anywhere on Earth, you should at least give it a shot once, Right? Find your way here, because there's something for everybody. It's awesome.
[00:24:29] Speaker B: Yeah. And even if it's just the roller coasters to begin with, that's a place to start.
[00:24:34] Speaker E: Absolutely.
[00:24:36] Speaker B: Guys, thanks for being on the show.
[00:24:37] Speaker E: Thank you.
[00:24:38] Speaker B: Have a great rest of your week.
[00:24:39] Speaker I: Hi, everyone. We have some exciting news. With just a few clicks, you can pack an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift online and share God's love with a boy or girl in need around the world.
Simply select toys and other fun items you'd like to include from our collection and personalize your gift with your own letter and photo.
Samaritan's Purse will then pack the gift for you and send it on its way for a donation of just $30. And now we're introducing GoalPages. It's a great way to pack shoeboxes online and encourage your church or group to participate in a few easy steps. You can create a custom webpage and track your progress towards a shoebox goal. Just upload an image or logo, write an inspiring message, and set a goal for how many shoeboxes gifts you want to pack. You'll receive a unique link from your page that you can share via email or social media.
Then watch your goal tracker to see how many children will be blessed with the good news of Jesus Christ.
And remember to pray for the children who will receive your shoeboxes that their lives would find the hope of the gospel. Visit samaritanspurse.org for more information.
[00:26:08] Speaker B: Hello, and welcome back to the Kingdom Bound insider podcast. I'm your host, Kevin Neville, and we've got another great interview guest today. Liz, I'll let you introduce yourself. Tell us who you are and where you're from.
[00:26:20] Speaker H: My name is Liz Lennon, officially Elizabeth, and I am from Buffalo, New York.
[00:26:26] Speaker B: Buffalo, New York. And what do you do here at Kingdom Bound?
[00:26:32] Speaker H: I do a lot of different things at Kingdom Bound, but I mostly work the Kingdom Bound merch. So I've been doing that for many years.
[00:26:38] Speaker B: So this is your table right beside us?
[00:26:41] Speaker H: Yes.
[00:26:41] Speaker B: Right. Yep. I've been telling these teenagers, these young adults they're the hardest working people here in the set. From the day one, they had a light out the door.
[00:26:52] Speaker H: So it's very popular booth. It can get very, very busy. But everybody's always so sweet and gracious and they wait their turn and we do the best we can to get them what they want.
[00:27:02] Speaker B: Okay, how long have you been over the merchandise?
[00:27:05] Speaker H: And oh my gosh, I gotta be 10 plus years at this point.
[00:27:12] Speaker G: Yeah.
[00:27:13] Speaker B: How did, how did you get into it?
[00:27:14] Speaker H: So my husband, Nate Lennon has been working with Kingdom Bound for a very long time. And we would come out, I think we started camping when my daughter was a baby. She was born in 97.
And so he would work and we were just here. And then when my kids got old enough that we could give back by volunteering of our time as well, that's when I connected. I have worked retail my whole life, so.
[00:27:45] Speaker B: So this was a natural fit.
[00:27:46] Speaker H: This was a natural fit. Exactly so. And I've known Darryl for a very long time, so he reached out to me and said, would you be interested? I'm like, absolutely. Wonderful. So my daughter and I have done that for many, many years.
[00:27:59] Speaker B: You've been coming near since near the beginning. Usa.
[00:28:03] Speaker H: Yes, yes. I, I, as I was sharing with you, I remember coming to see Petra and over at where the laser light show is, that was the main stage all the years. It's, I, I think it's different for everybody. I love music, Music. I mean my radio is on all the time. I love Christian music. It, I can like mark high points and low points in my life where a certain song like spoke to me. So like Kingdom out to me, like, I just love the music aspect of it. And then the speakers that come to it just to me is, it's just my favorite part. I just really enjoy it. And I think it's such an incredible music ministry because I think music is so powerful and God uses it.
[00:28:52] Speaker B: What other bands over the years or speakers that have really stood out, you know, for you?
Oh my goodness. I know. It must all blend together.
[00:29:02] Speaker H: It does.
There was one year that unfortunately we had lost one of our kids from youth group in an accident and Mercy Me was singing that year and they're probably one of my favorite bands at least.
But it was, was so powerful because they literally were talking about.
We just feel like there's been difficult times this year and everybody's always walking through a different difficult time and we never know anybody's story, you know. And I think as Christians we always have to keep that in mind when we encounter people. And I've always felt that way, even when I had a retail business and you met with somebody and maybe you felt they were prickly that day or whatever. We don't know what people are walking through.
But they spoke that out over the crowd. And it was just such a powerful moment because our church and our youth group and so many people there knew Lauren and they sang this song and I'm so sorry. Cause I wish I could think of the title of it right now and I can't, but it was perfect. And I just remember in the background there was like lightning.
It was such a cool moment, I can't tell you. And it was so powerful because it just felt like God was speaking into that moment. And my husband at the time was the junior high youth pastor. So Lauren had gone through junior high. She was in senior high. I think she was actually in college at the time.
So, you know, this was just a family that was very involved in our church. And it was just such a powerful moment in time because it was such a huge loss to this, I think a fairly expensive community here at Kingdom Bound.
[00:30:51] Speaker B: But it's beautiful. It sounds like it was just, you know, a God moment, a tribute to her life.
[00:30:55] Speaker H: It was.
[00:30:56] Speaker B: And what God like.
[00:30:57] Speaker H: I think anybody listening to this that can remember that moment, I think will remember it too. It was very powerful.
[00:31:03] Speaker B: We have another great guest today with another long history here at Kingdom Bound. Let him introduce yourself. Welcome to the show.
[00:31:11] Speaker F: Thank you. I appreciate that. My name is Ray Hiers. I'm from Canada.
I'm actually on the board of Kingdom Bound. I'm the Canadian ref. I've been coming here since probably 37, 38 years. I remember my first year here. Rebecca St. James was a 14 year old girl singing on the stage. And I got a cool picture of her just sitting on the edge of the stage.
And we've been coming ever since. And I've also been a youth leader within my church. So we bring youth here year after year.
Probably halfway through, we decided to bring families with the kids in grade school because then those kids would start to learn what Christian music is all about. And it just has blossomed since then. For instance, this year I have 98 people with me.
[00:32:00] Speaker B: 98 people crossing the border. It's like an exodus south, isn't it?
[00:32:04] Speaker F: Absolutely.
[00:32:04] Speaker B: I gotta say, as a fellow Canadian, you know, it's so nice. I was talking with Donna, she was talking about the Canadian gang that's coming down and just how exciting it is. But you've really, over the years, have seen God move in the teen community here at Kingdom Bound, haven't you?
[00:32:22] Speaker F: Oh, absolutely. Like I was saying, we used to first bring youth groups back in the 90s, and a lot of these kids were never exposed to Christian music. On the way down, they would say things like, hey, can you put us on to Guns N Roses? The music we know? Yeah.
And so it was tough getting them here to go to the concerts, go to the Speakers out type of thing.
But it's something that I've loved doing over the years, and you just. You never know what's going to happen with these kids.
[00:32:52] Speaker G: Amazing.
[00:32:53] Speaker B: And so what got you to come 33 years ago? What started your journey with Kingdom Bell?
[00:32:59] Speaker F: It actually was a youth organized this whole thing.
And he said, hey, we need a few leaders to come along. Would you come? Well, in the end, this youth that organized everything sort of dropped out of it. So I ended up coming, I don't know, bringing 30, 40 kids, having no clue what this was all about, and it got me hooked, and I've been coming ever since.
[00:33:20] Speaker B: And since then, you've joined the board, you've been part of the actual vision of Kingdom Bound?
[00:33:26] Speaker F: Exactly.
I think I've been on the board now seven or eight years. I was asked to come on as a Canadian Republican, and I think they really like the fact that I camp here with the campers. Yeah. Because most board members are either local or, you know, they're in a hotel or whatever. But I say we rough it. But it's not really that rough. I have a nice RV or a nice camper. I'm not sleeping on the floor.
[00:33:48] Speaker B: So in 33 years, there's got to be some great, amazing, funny stories that you have. What. What comes to mind?
[00:33:56] Speaker F: Well, this one comes back to the early years. I had three teenage girls who were a little bit rebellious. They grew up in the church, but they weren't really walking the walk, and they were actually smokers. And when we got here, they said, well, can we smoke here? And I said, well, no, I don't really want you to smoke here. And they said, well, are we gonna. You're gonna follow us around Kingdom Mountain, make sure we don't smoke? And I said, well, no, but no smoking on the campsite. So.
And like rebellious girls, they step over the line, so. And say, it's okay to smoke here then, right? I just said, whatever.
So that night they came up to me and they said, ray, what does convicted mean? And I go, convicted. Well, tell me how you Heard it. Well, we were walking down the road smoking, and this group of youth came by us and said, those girls need to be convicted.
I just laughed and I said, what those youth mean is you need to be convicted, that smoking's not a good thing to do and maybe you shouldn't do it.
So. But the beauty of it is, 20 years later, those girls came up to me at the funeral of a youth leader and they hugged me and they cried and said, thank you for putting up with us when we were such jerks as teenagers.
[00:35:09] Speaker B: Isn't that amazing? And we were talking before this. We're talking about, you know, as a youth pastor myself, you know, we're in it for the long game.
[00:35:16] Speaker F: That's right. That's right. Because we know that we can bring people to events where good things can happen to them, but it's up to God to make things happen.
I have learned in my youth dentistry that the important thing is to be faithful to what God calls you to do.
Let God worry about the results. If we try to be all results orientated, we're going to be disappointed and we're going to, you know, so just be faithful. Do what God calls you to do and do it faithfully and he will look after the results.
[00:35:48] Speaker A: Those are some great stories.
[00:35:49] Speaker C: Yeah, really good stories. Love hearing from those people. Kingdom family is awesome. Full of awesome people. Now you're part of it.
[00:35:56] Speaker F: Insider.
[00:35:58] Speaker D: We're done.
[00:35:58] Speaker C: Episode two.
[00:35:59] Speaker F: Wow.
[00:36:00] Speaker C: Good job.
[00:36:01] Speaker A: But you know what we need?
[00:36:02] Speaker C: What?
[00:36:02] Speaker A: Some input for episode we do.
[00:36:05] Speaker C: We want you to email us. What's the email address?
[00:36:07] Speaker A: KB Insider. POD P O D. Remember that band?
[00:36:11] Speaker C: I do.
[00:36:12] Speaker A: Mail dot com. We've got a little fun thing we're to do next time that we need a little input on. So give us the criteria. Mike.
[00:36:19] Speaker C: So remember that band that you loved, but they're not together anymore because they're not touring anymore. For me, one is City Harmonic. Oh, remember them?
[00:36:28] Speaker F: They were great.
[00:36:28] Speaker A: High energy.
[00:36:29] Speaker C: If there was one band that you musically complicated could choose to hear one more live performance, that band that you haven't heard, that band that's not together again. They're not even alive anymore.
Email us who it would be. Who was that one band that you'd want to hear?
[00:36:44] Speaker A: City Harmonic.
[00:36:45] Speaker C: We also have a really cool friend of the ministry coming on our next episode. His name is Sean Rodriguez. You've been to the festival, you've seen him. High energy, great guy. Can't wait to have him join us on that episode. So we'll see you next time.
