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, and William Federer.  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.

 

In 2017 we performed our first Freedom Journey Show in Branson, MO to continue sharing these principles. In 2020 we were able to purchase the former Tony Orlando Theater in Branson, and have been performing the Freedom Journey Show in this facility ever since. This facility, now called Freedom Encounter, is a 2,000 seat theater, gift shop, and eating area. Our long-range vision is to build an experiential museum and an indoor kids Colonial Village telling the story of tyranny, faith, and freedom. Please visit FreedomEncounter.com to learn more about this exciting project.

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Tammy and I still travel every weekend to teach and preach the principles of freedom. We would love to visit your church. Please call to schedule a meeting or to visit about how we can collaborate to share the truth that makes us free. May God be glorified!

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For Truth & Freedom,

Darren Myers