Greenville College Presents AgapeFest 2010
Published: April 13, 2021
Greenville College announces the 34th annual AgapeFest featuring David Crowder Band , Skillet , Sanctus Real , This Beautiful Republic , and Remedy Drive . Festival favorite Family Force 5 will be joined by Random Hero , Wavorly , and Addison Road . Additional acts include Run Kid Run , Above the Golden State , Philmont , and I Am Terrified . Alumni Mark David and Surface Deep will open the event with worship Friday night. AgapeFest 2010 will also feature other alumni and student acts Paper Route , Stephanie Smith , and Eagle Scout , along with regional favorite The Great Romance .
AgapeFest 2010 Headliners
The stage rocks at AgapeFest 2010! Musical acts ranging from hip-hop and praise and worship to rock and contemporary all point to The Rock; the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Grammy award winning artist Skillet returns this year to close out the festival for the first time. True veterans to the industry going fourteen years strong, Skillet not only exists as one of the most prominent acts in the Christian industry, but has also gained accolades in the mainstream market, touring with such acts as Seether and Breaking Benjamin . The band has met with recent success with their new album Awake , which rose to #2 on the Billboard charts on its debut. Awake was #1 on both the Billboard Top Christian Albums, and Billboard Top Alternative Albums. Awake also reached #2 on the Billboard 200, and Billboard Top Rock Albums.
David Crowder Band will return to AgapeFest after a two year absence to close out this year's Friday night line-up. The band is best known for revolutionizing Christian worship music, sparking what is known as the "Passion Movement." DCB has been nominated for seven Dove awards , receiving 3 so far, including the 2009 Special Event Album of the Year for Passion: God of This City .
AgapeFest Ministry
Since 1977 the student-coordinated festival has featured top-selling songwriters and performers in the contemporary Christian music industry. The first student director, Chris Marsh, was pleased to host approximately 1,000 young people to the first Agape Music Festival (as it was previously known), but the true fruits of this labor were displayed when speaker Bob Laurent gave an invitation to accept Christ. "A high school-aged girl came running up to the front," Marsh said. "I can't recall how many came forward that night, I think it was something like 29, but that first girl gave me an immediate sense of satisfaction that God had used us."
The festival has grown in numerous ways in its thirty-four years. The one-day event became two and to main stage was added a popular second stage, featuring Battle of the Bands, local, new and independent acts. The attendance has grown from 1,000 in 1977 to a festival high of 6,500 in 1990, and typically averages around 5,000. A modest production originally held on the college soccer field, AgapeFest now makes it home at the Bond County Fairgrounds. A growing list of vendors serves the large festival crowd.
AgapeFest Welcomes Interl'inc and Area Youth
In the midst of growth and change, one thing remains the same - AgapeFest began, and continues to serve, as a ministry to area youth. For the last four years youth leaders have welcomed the opportunity to interact with representatives of Interl'inc . Created "to maximize music and media in youth ministry," Interl'inc equips youth leaders with knowledge about Christian media, and how this media can better serve as a tool against the negative messages produced by some of today's mainstream media.
Ministry resonates throughout the two-day festival with lead singer of Slingshot 57 , Ben Woods; Mark David Goins, front man for Mark David and Surface Deep; new Stage 2 speaker Ryan Mifflin; Compassion International child sponsorship opportunities; encouraging music and stories shared from the stage; and a vital prayer ministry. Director of Agapefest 2010, and a senior majoring in Mass Communications, Andrew Ely says, "Ministry really has a greater role this year in the festival. AgapeFest 2009 was the first time we had a Ministry Director position, and with the same person returning in that position, we really have a great grasp on ministry. We're featuring three new ministries this year, each with equal time and space in the Merch Pavillion."
AgapeFest's Unique Student Learning Experience
AgapeFest was created by Greenville College students and continues as a student-coordinated festival, with the guidance of a small cabinet of faculty and administrative staff. As they work through the challenges of producing a Christian music event of this size, GC students experience the music industry in the backyard of their college home.
"I would compare being on Agape Cabinet to a senior capstone project," Ely says. "It's very demanding; we're working and working and working to finish everything on time and on deadline. Yet the reward for AgapeFest is much greater than for any other class project because we're working to get people saved."
A student volunteer cabinet is charged with oversight of numerous areas of responsibility, including artist relations, security, media/PR, ministry, volunteers and grounds. Under their supervision, additional student volunteers focus on and contribute to a specific facet of the festival, while learning the ins and outs of what it takes to plan, market, and ultimately implement the 34-year strong event. Although a great deal of learning takes place through the process, student staff maintain a level of professionalism that rivals that of other corporate-run festivals. Jef Cunningham, guitarist of AgapeFest 2007 act, Spoken, said, "Agape Festival that year was one of the best organized, most helpful festivals that Spoken played."
AgapeFest Alumni
Former student directors and staff include an impressive roster of alumni who have gone on to work as artist managers, concert promoters and record label industry executives in Nashville, Chicago, New York and L.A. Chaz Corzine (1978) served as a partner at Blanton Harrell Cooke & Corzine , an artist management company representing Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith and Point of Grace and now manages Smith solely. Chris Oglesby (1983) spent almost twenty years working in Nashville's country music publishing industry before starting Oglesby Writer Management in 2004. In his role with OWM/19 Entertainment, Oglesby manages a large roster of country music writers and provides A&R representation for American Idol-winner Carrie Underwood.
Michael Scanland (1986) owns Concert Services, Inc. and Sonshine Concerts in Chicago, IL. His companies produce Sonshine Festival in MN, Ignite Chicago and numerous Christian concerts across northern IL, WI and MN. He continues to consult with AgapeFest on festival management, operations, booking and marketing. Michelle Fink Wright (1990) followed up her AgapeFest experience with lengthy tenures at Reunion Records and Blanton Harrell Management. Courtney Somerville Klimson (2003) directs marketing activities for Masque Sound's House of Worship division in New York.
Robyn Florian(executive staff, 1985-88), founder of Hope Shows ,now serves as AgapeFest marketing advisor. Joel Goodman (2006) returned to Greenville College in 2007, accepting responsibilities that included operations advisor and webmaster for AgapeFest 2008, 2009 and part of 2010.
AgapeFest's longevity is largely attributed to the loyalty of regional youth groups. AgapeFest is the only weekend festival of its kind in southern Illinois, which makes it a unique experience for the youth in the area. Each year AgapeFest attempts to identify the most popular Christian artists reaching the youth market for main stage and second stage lineups. This year's event, featuring youth favorites Skillet, Family Force 5, and Sanctus Real, is set to attract one of the largest crowds in the history of the festival.
All of the planning, preparation, prayer, and research leads to a powerful two-day experience known as AgapeFest. The music begins at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 30, and at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 1. Advance ticket purchases can be made through iTickets (http://www.itickets.com/ or 800-965-9324). Gate ticket prices are slightly higher. For more information, visit agapefest.com or call (618) 664-1806.
