In 2008, the Landmark Baptist Church of Rolla, MO chose for it’s annual theme “America, We Still Believe”.  All the decorations in the building were patriotic, the bulletins were covered in flags and filled with quotes from the founding fathers, and our guest speakers for the year were patriotic in nature.  Every week in Sunday School we took 5-10 minutes to talk about one of our founders – giving a brief biography and then reading some of his quotes.  It was powerful!

 

Hi.  My name is Darren Myers, and as the pastor of the church, my  life was significantly impacted by that year.  I came to realize how godly these men were, how wise they were, and what a special gift and heritage we have received as Americans!  There has never been another nation on earth that was founded on Bible principles and dedicated to personal freedom like America was.  And I am privileged to live here!

That year, our church family stepped out on faith to try to reach our community.  These truths and quotes had been such a blessing to us, but we wondered how many other Americans had any idea about this. Political correctness and historical revisionism had effectively robbed this generation of our true history. How could we help?

 

An all-American picnic!  Let’s have a picnic downtown, rent some inflatables for the kids, set up a museum of “America’s Faith & Founding” under a tent, bring in a military band and some guest speakers, recognize the veterans and let them eat for free, and close out with fireworks.  We planned, prepared, and showed up downtown on a cloudy September 11 for our first “Patriot Day Rally”.  We prayed and prayed that it would not rain, but you know, it started raining at 5:00 PM (which was when our event began) and stopped raining at 8:00 PM (which was when our event ended).  Amazing!  Was this God’s way of saying this was a waste of time… or was this a test?  How committed to this cause were we really?

 

We did have 400 in attendance, in spite of the rain.  The museum was soaked, not to mention the military band!  But the kids had the time of their lives as the inflatables were quickly converted into water slides! All in all, we felt it was worthwhile and those who did attend were very grateful.

 

Well, we had rallies every year since that first one and they all had beautiful weather.  Praise the Lord!  We moved the event to a large park, added static displays, a live bald eagle, patriotic characters in costume, a one-room schoolhouse, petting zoos, horse-drawn wagon rides, and dessert booths.  Special speakers have included David Gibbs, Jr., Chuck Harding, Hershel “Woody” Williams, William Federer, and Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar.  The fireworks grew as well as the crowds, with a high of 5,000 in attendance.  The community responded so favorably.  Local law enforcement and first responders had a chance to receive much deserved recognition, and one more opportunity to connect with the public through their static displays.  Over 100 local businesses got on board to help sponsor the event as well.

 

America is still hungry for truth.  Our theme every year was “Celebrating One Nation Under God”.  The rally was not political.  It was about reconnecting with the truth of our founding.  We found that there are still many citizens out there who are very patriotic and love our vision and effort to bring this message to the community.  There is still hope for this country!  As we bring truth to Americans… truth will do it’s work in Americans.

 

My family and I stepped away from the pastorate to launch Freedom Focus in January of 2015. God led us to help churches in other communities as they take the message of freedom beyond their walls. Freedom Focus is about getting the message out. We want to serve local churches who desire to bring the truth of America’s greatness to their community. Explore the rest of this website to catch our vision, then contact us to schedule a Sunday, a Sunday through Wednesday meeting, a Community Rally or even a Youth Rally.  Let us all pray that God would use us to keep the light of liberty shining for our children and grandchildren.

 

For Freedom,

Darren Myers