Salem gets set for big riverfront party

    SALEM — Two years in the making, what could be the biggest evangelistic outreach in the history of Oregon’s capital city takes place later this month.
     Closely modeled after Portland-based international evangelist Luis Palau’s festival outreaches of the past decade, Salem Riverfest with Reid Saunders features not Palau, but a 33-year-old Salem resident who is a partner evangelist.
     Saunders acknowledges that the free-admission event, Saturday and Sun-day, Sept. 22 and 23, in Riverfront Park, is a big step in his life’s calling to share the gospel.
    “I just spend most of my time on my knees before the Lord about it, it’s just so huge,” Saunders told Christian News Northwest.
     Saunders declines to estimate what size crowd to expect, but if Palau’s festivals are any indication, many thousands could be expected to turn out.
     And understandably, Saunders says a few extra prayers for good weather for the “Great Music, Good News and Family Fun” festival.
     Running from 12:30 to 10 p.m. both days, the festival features some of the biggest names in contemporary Christian music, in addition to messages from Saunders.. The tentative schedule calls for Jump 5, Big Daddy Weave, Disciple and Salvador to perform on Saturday, and Paul Wright, Grits, Avalon and Jars of Clay on Sunday.
     Also featured at the festival are a Livin’ It extreme sports demonstrations, the Narnia Kids Block Party, a food court and Sports Zone.
     Preceding the festival on Wednesday, Sept. 19 is a RiverFest women’s luncheon at the Salem Conference Center, with Miss America 2002 Katie Harman of Oregon as featured speaker.
     Saunders and his team two years ago approached church leaders throughout Salem proposing the idea of a citywide festival. In 2006, nearly 200 church leaders from multiple denominations met for a luncheon and officially extended an invitation to Saunders and his team to work together for Salem RiverFest.
     Raised in Petaluma, Calif., Saunders committed his life to Christ at age 17 and soon felt a call to evangelism. He recorded televised Billy Graham crusades and watched them over and over. He did his undergraduate studies at what is now Corban College in Salem, and went on to earn a master of divinity degree from Multnomah Biblical Seminary.
      Since then, Saunders has ministered to nearly 140,000 people both in the United States and internationally, with more than 21,000 making decisions for Christ. He began his own ministry, Reid Saunders Association, after serving an internship with the Palau team. He and his wife, Carmen, have three children.
     To ensure that those responding to the Gospel at the festival are given proper counsel and followup, counselor training sessions are being held at 14 Salem-Keizer area churches and Corban College between Sept. 6 and 16.
      A full schedule is on the event website, www.salemriverfest.com.
In all, more than 100 churches are participating in the festival.
     “This is unprecedented in the history of Salem, having over 100 churches coming together to reach the city for Christ,” Saunders said. “It’s phenomenal.”
      Saunders is able, in very basic terms, to summarize what the festival is about.
     “Simply put, when all is said and done, we want everyone to know that RiverFest is all for Jesus.”