References

Press Release for The Eleventh Annual Affiliated Foods-Midwest Country Stampede

By Scott Perkins, The Country Parson www.thecountryparson.com WIBW Country 94.5 FM Topeka, KS

The Eleventh Annual Affiliated Foods-Midwest Country Stampede took place on June 22-25, 2006. The Country Stampede is a huge four day event bringing in top Country acts playing to thousands of fans each year! This year included artists like; Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Gretchen Wilson and Terri Clark. You can go to Country Stampede’s website at www.countrystampede.com for more information. Mainstream Country radio station 94.5 Country is the on-air sponsor. Based in Topeka, KS, this 100,000 watt Country station has hosted this event for the eleven years.

On the final day of Country Stampede, The Country Parson, Scott Perkins, opened the 94.5 Country Sunday Fun Day with special guests, CrossCountry! This day was billed as a family event with over 20,000 tickets given away by sponsor, Gary Hardy Dodge. CrossCountry was the opening act of the day and took the stage at 12:30 in the afternoon to the largest opening day crowd of 4,000 fans! They rocked the house for one hour! During that their time on stage, played several of their hit songs. At one point in time, Johnston had everyone stand and they all prayed for the men and women of uniform. That was a very moving time as the crowd exploded with applause after the “Amen”. At the end of the hour, Johnston gave an invitation to receive Christ in their hearts. Over 300 country music fans raised their hands! Also, over five hundred Bibles were given out as well with many people coming up and asking for copies!

The significance of this year is seen graphically from last year in numbers alone. At last years’ event, we were in the Beer tent playing to around 90 people with twenty-five fans making a commitment of faith. This year that number increased to 4,000 people hearing the music and over 300 making a commitment! That is quite an increase! Perkins was very excited to see the outcome of this year’s event!

Several crowd comments heard included:

· “Thank you for doing this concert today! I was getting tired of all the beer songs!”

· “It is an amazing opportunity for you to spread the love of Jesus at this event! You never know who is going to respond.”

· “I can’t tell you what this meant to me today. I was feeling very down, but now I’ve been encouraged! Thank you!”

Plans are already in the works for next year’s event including hosting an actual preaching service before the first act hits the stage. The Country Parson broadcasts his show from the 94.5 broadcast booth next to the stage at Country Stampede. The show airs on 94.5 Country every Sunday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. The station also streams over the internet. Go to www.thecountryparson.com and follow the link to listen. The Country Parson is heard in 12 stations across America and one station in the Philippines.