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Locals flock to hear evangelist
By Mary Madewell
Published November 21, 2009
Ken Freeman is not what most would expect from an evangelist.
Dressed in jeans, wearing a T-shirt and shoes without socks, he spoke to several thousand adults and youth about the saving grace of Jesus at an East Paris Baptist Church revival, which as of Friday had seen more than 200 people profess a saving knowledge of Christ.
The evangelist first grabs the attention of his audience through humor and his personality before delivering a serious, understandable message.
Church pastor Rev. Mike Fortenberry said Friday he had never heard anyone quite like Freeman and that East Paris had never witnessed such an outpouring of the Holy Spirit as had been witnessed during the first five nights of a six-night revival. Freeman was to speak again at 10 a.m. today following a Baptism service.
Youth came by the hundreds each night, drawn to the church by Freeman, who gave motivational speeches each day at schools in Lamar County as well as in Clarksville and at Rivercrest.
“There was nothing of a religious nature in his motivational talks,” Fortenberry said of school assemblies. “He talked about making choices and the consequences of wrong choices — and then he told the students where he would be each night if they would like to hear more about what he had to say.”
And come they did — each night by the hundreds. Crowds packed the church Monday and Tuesday and by Wednesday, people were standing in the hallways outside the 800-seat sanctuary.
An additional service was added Thursday with people packing the auditorium for both services. And again on Friday and Saturday, crowds filled the auditorium at both 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. services.
The evangelist lives in San Antonio with his wife, Debbie. The couple has two children and eight grandchildren.
The son of an alcoholic mother and an absentee father, Freeman’s life was filled with abuse and neglect until he made the choice to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. according to his Web site at kenfreemanministries.com.
In the ministry for more than 30 years, he served as a youth minister for 12 years and for the past 25 years as an evangelist.
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