The Save Mart Center was filled with families from across the Central Valley Saturday night for the annual Winter Jam Tour as it made its stop in Fresno.
Winter Jam, which has been around for decades, is a cross-country tour that brings people together to enjoy Christian music performed in various genres and a night of coming together in a revival of Christian faith.
The lines at the Save Mart Center formed early Saturday with people of all ages lined up, ready to see 10 amazing performances.
All three levels of the arena filled up quickly with families and church youth groups ready to see their favorite Christian artists perform live.
The opening acts did an excellent job of pumping up the crowds for the music event that was ahead.
One group in particular, OBB (nicknamed The Christian Jonas Brothers) got everyone up on their feet. During their final song, staff released enormous latex balloons that were bumped along the crowd like beach balls.
The main event began with the entire arena coming together in prayer, and then the numerous musical performers and guest speakers took the stage.
The crowd immediately went wild when artists KB and Tedashi performed their Christian rap and dubstep style music. The flashing lights and the crowds jumping up and down set the tone for the rest of the night.
In between every few musical performances, Winter Jam provided the crowd the opportunity to sit back and relax while listening to the inspiring guest speakers who shared their own stories and the moving stories of others.
Even the musical performers had a chance to sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with the crowd members in between their songs. Christian music artist Mandisa shared with the crowd how her faith was strengthened with Simon Cowell during her appearance on Season 5 of American Idol.
Since it was the day after Veterans Day, the audience and performers took a moment to honor our veterans. The entire arena came together to sing “God Bless America” and “This Land Is Your Land” led by the performers.
Before intermission, we heard the story of a Korean War orphan who was given a second chance at life through the help of Holt International, which is an international organization that helps aid orphans from around the world in giving them food, shelter and adoption opportunities.
During a 20-minute break, the audience had the opportunity to help in the funding of an orphaned child. Each individual who wished to donate was able to choose a child from the many biographies presented and helped the organization with giving them a better life.
After intermission, the stage was transformed for Christian Pop singer Britt Nicole who put on an uplifting and cheerful performance as her backup dancers glided across the stage in rollerblades.
Before the show ended, the audience had the chance to give a monetary offering. The Winter Jam staffed announced that at every show the first 10 percent of their offerings is always awarded to a local charity, and Fresno Rescue Mission would receive Saturday night’s donation. White buckets were passed all over the arena for the fans to donate whatever they pleased to help the local community.
Matthew West was the final performer of the night and left fans with open hearts and smiles after sharing a touching story. At the foot of the stage he had a pile of papers that were with him during his entire set. He picked up the papers and told the audience that they were some of the many letters he received from fans. He said that he uses their stories to inspire him to write the songs on his album. Before playing his final song, a video of a fan who went through months of rehabilitation came on the big screen, and he shared his story and gave some powerful motivation to the rest of the audience.
After a four-hour event filled with joy, tears and laughter, the arena came back together, hand-in-hand, for a final prayer for hope and happiness for everyone.