Courtesy photo Paul Maurer speaks to the crowd at last year’s Jesus Festival.

ESCANABA — Last year, worldwide Evangelist Paul Maurer teamed up with a few Delta County residents to create the first ever Jesus Festival. The response from the community was extraordinary.

The event was planned in less than three months. A crowd of approximately 2,500 people came for a day dedicated to blessing them. There was quality free food from Drifter’s Restaurant and pizza from Dominos, live music, contests, and  bounce houses.

One of the biggest draws was the free giveaways. Every hour, prizes were given from the stage including an ATV on the last night. Some comments heard from past attendees are “God used the Jesus Festival to change my life,” “I was blown away by the kindness,” and “It helped me through a really hard time.”

Last year, Maurer spearheaded the fundraising as he wanted to bless the area he grew up in. He is a Gladstone High School graduate and homecoming king of his 1999 class. Because of scheduling, Maurer was unable to commit to raising the funds this year.

After much prayer and consideration, the team decided to take on the task of fundraising to ensure the event would take place again. This year the dates are Saturday, July 27, and Sunday, July 28 from 2 p.m. till sunset at the Karas Bandshell in Ludington Park.

Through the support of churches, individuals, and businesses the fundraising goal has been met. Any funds left over will go towards a future event.

This year there will again be $10,000 worth of giveaways. The team has decided on an electric bike along with a Mackinac Island day package that includes ferry tickets, lunch at the Grand Hotel, and a carriage ride as the grand prize Sunday evening. Other top prizes will include $1,000 cash, Mackinac Island overnight package, $500 cash, Apple Watch 9 series, $250 Drifter’s Gift Certificate, and more. Participants in the stage drawings must be 16 years of age or older. All people participating in giveaways and contests must be present to win.

Additionally, we are hosting a Nintendo Switch Smashbrothers Tournament, which is new this year. All participants 15 and under can enter their names into a drawing. On Sunday night we will give away the Nintendo Switch we used during the tournament. There will be bounce houses, a free throw contest, golf hole-in-one challenge, 9 square, face painting, soccer field goal challenge, fire truck, police car, Marine’s Pull-Up contest, Air Force Low Crawl Course, egg toss, and more.

Live music will once again shine from the stage as local bands perform Christian music. Connor Roy, of the Detroit area, will be there with an upbeat pop/electric sound along with Rapper ZAV on Sunday.

Ten local churches will gather and almost 200 people will volunteer at the event because they want to share the hope they found in Jesus with their friends in the community.

After high school, Maurer moved away to pursue ministry. After years of experience as a youth pastor and missionary to China, Maurer was mentored by President of Christ For All Nations (CFAN) Evangelist Daniel Kolenda. There he was trained in crusade evangelism. In 2015, he launched his own evangelistic ministry called Cover the Earth, and he has been having his own gospel crusades all over the world. He has led hundreds of thousands of people to Christ in places like Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bulgaria, and all over Africa. He has had the privilege to minister to crowds of up to 500,000 people. He also works with the locals in these countries and actively plants churches in unreached nations.

Anyone interested in learning more or registering for a prize can visit jesusfestivals.org.