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The March for Jesus

 




I don't know exactly what sent me down this rabbit hole. A thought popped into my head and I started wondering what happened to Evangelism like we had in the 90's? What happened to going out into the community and having tent services? Additionally, I got lost in the memories of Christianity when it was oh so simple for me. Back when I went to church every week, multiple times a week for various things: Bible study, choir rehearsal, piano lessons, drill team, mime, and church plays. The one thing I found myself missing most of all was the March For Jesus. What happened to it? Does it still go on? When did it start? The answer to my question was wrong. I did a google search to see when The March For Jesus started in Youngstown, Ohio and it said that it started on June 11th, 2000. Although my memory is horrible, I knew that that wasn't correct. I was 16 years old and even though I had a lot going on in my life at the time, I knew for a fact that io hadn't attended the March for the first time in 2000.

Finding archives of The Vindicator was no easy feat, but eventually I was able to find an article not for the very first March but the second March. The first March was in June of 1994, the second being on May 25th, 1995. The historic event of Marching for Jesus in my childhood was almost completely digitally erased. It's ironic really, because Google AI told me the March Started in June of 2000, yet The Vindicator archives, which are linked to Google books is where I located the information I was looking for. 

As a child The March For Jesus meant so much to me and is considerably a core memory for me. I remember marching through the streets singing gospel songs with my best friend Jonathan. Music loud as we walked the designated route. The experience taught me more in that mile walk than any ten-year-old could fathom at the time. I learned that there were people who practiced witchcraft, as we walked by a man holding up what I thought was the Holy Bible, I realized that it was a bible for witchcraft. The was the first year I attended the March, the second year the March started under a bridge. It was the first time in my life I had ever seen a homeless person. It wasn't the last but it was the most impactful, I remember thinking to myself. Why aren't these people marching with us? Why are they just staring? A little slow in understanding at the time, it didn't dawn on me until I had a conversation with Jonathan as we were walking. 

The memories and the feelings running through me right now is bringing tears to my eyes. We weren't black churches and white churches, we weren't Catholic and Baptist, we weren't denominational, we were MARCHING FOR JESUS. Somehow, the simplicity of church, of evangelism, of revivals, of going out into the community has faded, and for those of us who remember just how simple it all could be... we are left emotional and nostalgic.

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