By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector
Members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (recently changed to Fellowship of Christian Anybody) of South-Doyle High School, Knoxville, pause before the Any One rally held there Sept. 23. They are, from left, first row, Paul Brooks, Olivia Snapp, and Debbie Lay, sponsor; back row, Ray Anderson, Nate Wilkerson, Luke Fall, and Noah Wilkerson.
KNOXVILLE — The fifth quarter “Any One” event held at South-Doyle High School here after its Sept. 23 football game drew students to the band field of the campus as they filed out of the stadium.
Teens gathered under bright lights donated by a construction company to hear music and a disc jockey (D.J.), eat hot dogs, and hang out. Musicians led worship, and then Robbie Robison, evangelist of Nashville, spoke.
About 175 students attended Any One with five students making professions of faith. Including the other two Any One events held, a total of 350-400 students participated and at least 15 students made professions of faith.
Four of the five students who made a profession of faith in Knoxville did not attend church, said Brent Beeler, Knoxville church minister of youth and onsite organizer of Any One.
Because the event was a first-time event, on a Friday night, and at a public high school, Beeler thought the attendance was “really good.” The commitments that were made indicated “we had the ones who needed to hear it,” he added.
It is amazing that these events could be held at public high schools and that they attracted so many students in this secular culture, noted Jeff Williamson of the Tennessee Baptist Convention staff who helped organize Any One.
The event will continue to affect the lives of the 1,100 students on campus here and at the other two schools, said Kevin Perrigan, another organizer from the TBC.
Any One was well received at all three high schools throughout East Tennessee but this last rally was unusual.
The most unexpected and important group in the development of Any One in Knoxville was the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at South-Doyle, agreed Any One leaders including Beeler, who explained that just a few months ago, “They didn’t know me and I didn’t know them.”
The students had already been praying for revival in their community for several months and saw God confirm that Any One was the answer to their prayers in a very serendipitous manner. (See story.)
Beeler, and his church, New Hopewell Baptist Church, also were an integral part. Amazingly, Beeler is a bivocational minister, noted Williamson.
For instance, Beeler arranged for Any One to be announced on the NBC-TV affiliate afternoon show. He and his wife Niki appeared live on the show to invite students but also anyone in the community to attend.
Also, about 40 New Hopewell Baptist members served on the campus that day.
New Hopewell fed the band of South-Doyle High School and the Any One crowd, encouraged people to attend, and had produced and arranged for materials. Many also stayed to the end though it was late.
Rich Loy, pastor, New Hopewell, said, “We’ve never done an event like this so to have 40 folks come out, that speaks to the heart of our church.” He added that the members wouldn’t question the investment in funds either, but would “see it as something they should do.”
“We’re not about what’s within the four walls at Hopewell,” said Beeler. “We’re about what’s here on this field, even at midnight.”
The congregation draws about 140 people to Sunday morning activities.
Beeler also took the initiative to obtain permission for the rally. He approached a school administrator he knew. He asked the man, “We need some positivity in this community. Would you agree?” The man not only agreed to arrange for the rally but sought and received approval from the principal of South-Doyle.
Speaking to the students that night, Robison shared how his football coach told him how to find a life which was more fulfilling “than football, than scoring, than anything” — the Christian life. He made a profession of faith while a senior in high school, he told the students. Robison also speaks at Impact camps.
Any One was held by the TBC with help from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and local Baptist churches.
— See related stories, Students Respond With Tears, Shock, and Response Leads Beyond Camp.
