Winter Jam 2015

For several years now, our family has attended Winter Jam and this year was no exception. Winter Jam is a concert of ten diverse Christian musical artists and the admission is only $10 per person.  It is a first come-first served event (unless you pay extra for premium passes) so people line up really early, around the arena, waiting for the doors to open. I've watched the crowds increase in the last five years or so and last night when we arrived at 5:00, the lines stretched two city blocks.  The Arena has 15,000 seats and was completely packed, including the seats behind the stage.

Winter Jam began in 1995, founded by the band Newsong. Each year the line-up is a collection of all types of musical styles from rap to rock but one thing the artists all have in common is their faith in Jesus Christ.

This year, the headliner was Skillet, a hard rock band that is very popular and has three platinum albums to their credit.  Other acts this year were: Jeremy Camp, Francesca Battestelli, Family Force Five, For King and Country, Building 429 and few other new artists. Each artist shares testimony that is so uplifting and inspirational.

Tony Nolan was the guest speaker and shared his story of being adopted from an violently abusive foster care situation as a young child.  His pro-life passion for adoption was palpable as he encouraged the crowd to consider supporting Holt International Children's Services, a sponsor of the event.

My favorite part of this concert tour is seeing the unity among the artists, no matter what their style or denomination may be.  Often you will see one artist come on stage to join another and it is often a surprise.  Last night, Jen Ledger, the drummer and a vocalist for Skillet, came out to sing Hillsong's Oceans with Newsong.  This was quite a pleasant surprise because Skillet is loud and hard, while Newsong is a traditional Praise and Worship group.  The added surprise of them singing this powerful worship song together had the entire arena on their feet with uplifted hands.

The night ended with flames and a moving drum platform when Skillet took the stage. Besides engaging the crowd in a hard rock worship exeperience, lead singer John L. Cooper gave a powerful message of not being ashamed of the gospel.