Concert in the Park Recap

NYC WoV – Concert in the Park

By Darcy Plimpton-Sims

The torrential rain fell at 5:15 for ten minutes and then the blazing SONSHINE came out with blue, blue sky! They did a final sound check and started on time at 6:00! Two bands went before the NewsBoys, one from MorningStar Church, and then a Band called "The Squad" (which has the fastest drummer in the World!) Their lead singer sang "To God be the GLORY" and I cried and couldn't stop weeping as God was finally being honored in Central Park for the first time EVER in a major way!

The Commissioner’s office had called Jamie from Parks, who was our person on the scene, to ask who was playing because they could hear EVERY word (that was right after "To God be the Glory"!) from the top of the Arsenal building in the Zoo on Fifth and 64th st. WOW!

Then Cindy Breilh, Women of Vision National Director, spoke on human trafficking and asked everyone to put their Love into action to rescue these children! Because as our theme said "Love IS Action"! So she asked hundreds to text in "noslaves" to 20222, and they were also asked to call their representative about some very important legislation that is up now, TVPRA-and we handed out cards with phone numbers to the 300-400 people that just arrived!

Then Lynette Lewis spoke about their charity, Stop Child Trafficking NOW, which investigates the buyers, and the rings, and turns them over to local police. Ex-Navy Seals are hired to do this!

Then, the NewsBoys came up to the crowd, which had swollen to over several hundred. By the end of the first song, perhaps 500, then 600, and more off on the pathways sitting and walking by with dogs. Many stopped, and we are guessing the crowd got larger with many more who heard the music as it echoed all through the Park!

They played Jesus Freak, and many more of their well known songs as well as Born Again!! Then Rice Broocks said, “they will play one more song, ‘Into the Light,’ after I speak for just one moment”...and he began to preach. No one seemed to leave, and the crowd fell silent. For 15 minutes, he shared the Good News with stories, and then asked if anyone needed Jesus and wanted to pray? In the dark of night, in the glow of the stage, many, many hands went into the air....the landscape of Eternity was changed!

They sang their last song with all of us rejoicing! Stephen Baldwin was there to greet the band off-stage, and everyone had amazing fellowship as we did a quick tear down and clean-up of the area, which actually was almost totally free of debris. It was a very respectful crowd.

***During a slower song there was a baby who lifted up her hands in praise and her mother said-"My baby feels the spirit so He must be real"! Old men and women were sitting on the benches and waving their hands in the air-"This is wonderful!" There were many stories that people shared of being impacted by the night! As God always works in ways we are mostly unaware, I suspect God met many people that night, right where they were, and followed them home! Because even as of yesterday, days after the event, a man called in and wanted to know where he could send his check to help "NOSLAVES" become a reality.

In the end, we all won, because it was a Victory for God's Kingdom! Many were impacted and educated about Human Trafficking, many heard the love of God through song, many heard and responded to the message of the Gospel, and all of us were blessed by the fellowship before, during and after the event.

The JOY was in our Journey leading to this night, and the night itself changed many people's Journey to Eternity! Priceless!