This is the Truth Network. Welcome to Passion for Christ, a ministry of Utah Partnerships for Christ. In Acts 26, 18, Jesus said, Paul's purpose was to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light. and from the power of Satan unto God. That they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
We hope you'll join us for today's testimony of lives changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now let's begin today's episode. Welcome to Passion for Christ. This is Russ, your host. And on today's edition of Passion for Christ, it's going to be a little different. We don't have an interview like we usually do with somebody who has come to Christ and their conversion story, although Pat may want to talk about that a little bit.
But Pat is the manager for a Christian musical. band, a group, and and they're called the Imperials. And the Imperials go way back to what year, Pat? 1961.
Okay. Over the years, as the band evolved, hit after hit after hit, Um they began to take a turn in the like 65, 66, and they created what we call contemporary Christian music today.
So in 1961, they started.
Okay. And then the Lord just opened up doors for concerts all over the country. All over the world, actually. All over the world.
Okay. Yep. And then if you were to look back and think about there's so many songs, so many albums. I was looking at even Grammy Awards and Dub Awards. And we are so blessed to have this group come to Utah.
They're coming here on Sunday. November 15th. And you know, for our culture here, just about anywhere in the world, music, it just is an amazing vehicle. It's an amazing tool to reach hearts, hearts, and minds. And the lyrics that are sung in these songs by the Imperials are powerful.
They give glory to God always. And these men are coming out here along with a couple other special guests. And we'll talk about those special guests in just a moment. But let me just give you the website. If you're a fan of the Imperials or you just want to bring some people, maybe they've never even heard of them before.
This is going to be a concert at the Christian Life Center in Layton, Utah. And it's going to be at 7 p.m. at the Christian Life Center in Layton, Utah. Here's the website where you can get tickets right now. You can go to Utah PartnershipsforChrist.brushfire.com.
I'll say that again. It's Utah Partnershipsforchrist.brushfire.com.
So they're going to be here also the day before the concert on Sunday night, the 15th of November, for a special Thanksgiving banquet. This is called the Gratitude Tour, right, Pat? Right. Gratitude Tour. Tell us a little bit about gratitude and why that's important.
Well, I think it's really important that we look at it now in the chaos of the world. I think if we think about things that we're thankful for, we spend a little less time. You know, meandering around the thoughts that crawl in and out of our head about the world and what's going on in the world at this point.
So, you know, and there's a lot of things we have to be grateful for. I think everybody in. Everybody that will be in this concert would probably have 50 reasons each at least to be thankful. But we sort of take it for granted and we don't really pay attention to it as our day goes by. I know I go out of my way to make sure my wife knows that I'm grateful for her every day.
And I feel that, you know, I've had two weeks without her now, so she's been in California.
So I'm really grateful for her now because I'm taking care of all the stuff at home. But, you know, the Imperials have had 32 number one songs. They've had 17 dub awards, four Grammy Awards. They've been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame multiple times. Actually, Vince Gill is trying to induct him into the Grand Old Opry right now because Carl, who's, I mean, Rob is one of the bass players and singers for the Grand Old Opry also.
So he's a standard at the Grand Old Opry all the time.
So these guys are, you know, gonna they're gonna move people. That's what they do. They move people.
Well, speaking of that, that's exactly what happened to me. It was one afternoon or morning, rather, on a Sunday when we're driving to church. My wife and I are driving to church. And, you know, we've got about a 20, about a 30-minute drive to go to church. And so my wife just kind of sensed, like, I want to play this song for my husband to kind of encourage him and everything.
And so she plays the song, Be Still. Oh. Be still. Be still, my soul. And.
and know that he is God. Oh, it's just a beautiful song. I'm trying to think of the words exactly, but if you look up that song, you go, I won't sing it for you, but it's so good, and it spoke to me, and it just got me choked up. It hit my emotions, it hit my soul. And I was like, at that moment, I was like, I gotta do something to try.
to see if these guys would come to Utah, because wouldn't that be great, you know? And then to find out that, yes, like we were talking earlier, that the manager for the Imperials is right here in my backyard. There's no way that that's not just some coincidence.
So if you're listening right now and you're anywhere near Layton, Utah. I would really encourage you to invite your neighbors, invite your friends. We've got songs like the trumpet of Jesus. They're going to sing, Praise the Lord. It's an amazing song.
Oh, my word. It's just amazing. Sail on is another one that's very, very comforting to people because it has to do, doesn't it have to do with like end of life on earth, doesn't it? Right, yeah. And they're going to rock the place with unforgiven.
Yeah, that bill is rocking. Unforgiving. Yeah, it's going to be like a party. It's going to be like a pep rally. It's just going to be, we need that.
Every now and again, you know, you read through the Old Testament, there's a time for a festival, there's time for a jubilee, there's time for, well, we should always be rejoicing, right? Being joyful in the Lord. And these guys have been gifted in order to do that. Unlike. other people.
And and I'm sure you've been to concerts and you've been to you know, fun concerts and things, and uh but this is gonna be Such a uniquely God-driven, God-glorifying concert. You're gonna walk away with your friends. Your family members, and they're going to remember this because we hopefully Lord Willing can bring them back again. But this is the door that's been opened to us now. And this venue holds about close to a thousand people.
And so we're just hoping that people will go to UtopartnershipsforChrist.brushfire.com. We have two other artists, we have actually three, we have one local. Uh his name is Caleb Wendt, and and some of you may know of Caleb. And he's just a great brother of the Lord.
Now, tell us about, for instance, Michael Peterson. He's a country. artist tell us about michael peterson so michael peterson um has been moving people for going on 40 years now. When he was 20, the Lord touched him to go out into a variety of places like school assemblies and conventions for youth and so forth and so on.
So he went out and did that for 15 years and stumbled into Nashville one day. And created some songs. It's basically what he is, a songwriter, first. And he had a few songs that. Uh, Warner Brothers became very interested in.
So they signed him as a country artist, and he had a 15-year career there with 18 number one songs in the country music business around the world. He's kind of a quiet guy, he's very humble and doesn't flash a lot like the country music guys do. He's more gifted in the way of what he feels the Lord's called him to do.
So we'll bring him in for a surprise.
Some songs you may remember of his or you know, from here to eternity. When the bartender cries, you know, that kind of he's had quite a few songs. Recently, he just released the classic song He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, by the Hollies had it as a Grammy Award song in 68, somewhere in there. And so Michael released that together with the Imperials.
So that's how that came together. But then when I was talking to the Imperials about doing this show, I said, we should really just come in here and. really rocked the place and I brought up the name Leon Potillo and the Imperials were like, are you serious? We used to open for him. Look at that.
So we have, you know, again, you know, you've got these guys that have gone out and created impact. With over 45 number one songs and awards like crazy. Even Michael, you know, Michael's songs were Grammy awarded on the Denise Williams album.
So he wrote songs for her and they all got Grammy awards.
So it's going to be a great night. Celebration of Christ, celebration of Thanksgiving, and at an appropriate time, right, in the month of Thanksgiving, which to me is my favorite holiday of the year because it doesn't, I mean, the only stress involved is do we get the turkey cooked right? Yeah. And how do I get up off the couch after the football game? Yeah.
You know, it's not so commercial as everything else. Yeah. Yeah. And we're just so excited that the Imperials and Leon Patillo and Michael Peterson and Caleb Went will be here for our banquet.
So here's what we're doing right now. There are costs involved. And so what we're doing, we're having to charge, but it's well worth it. The value is there for sure.
Okay. So what we're doing is we're offering a VIP ticket. for $75. And what that will give you is actually to have dinner with The Imperials with Leon Patillo and Michael Peterson and Caleb Went on the night before the concert.
So that's going to be at the Hilton Garden Inn in Layton at the Davis Convention Center. It's all kind of combined right there.
So if you buy a VIP ticket when you go to that website that I mentioned earlier, We'll be right back for the rest of today's testimony. Please know we at Utah Partnerships for Christ have been planting seeds of the gospel in Utah for over 24 years. We welcome any questions you may have and invite you to visit our website to obtain a list of words and definitions that would help you understand how Mormons think and how to be able to better witness to your friends who belong to the Mormon Church. That website is www.upfc.org. That's upfc.org.
We'll be right back. Welcome to Passion for Christ, a ministry of Utah Partnerships for Christ. In Acts 26, 18, Jesus said, Paul's purpose was to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light. and from the power of Satan unto God. That they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
We hope you'll join us for today's testimony of lives changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now let's begin today's episode. So he went out and did that for 15 years and stumbled into Nashville one day. and created some songs. That's basically what he is a songwriter first. And he had a few songs that Warner Brothers became very interested in.
So they signed him as a country artist, and he had a 15-year career there with 18 number one songs in the country music business around the world. He's kind of a. He's kind of a quiet guy. He's very humble and doesn't flash a lot like the country music guys do. He's more gifted in the way of what he feels the Lord's called him to do.
So we'll bring him in for a surprise.
Some songs you may remember of his or From Here to Eternity. Uh, when the bartender cries, you know, that kind of thing. He's had quite a few songs. Recently, he just released the classic song He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, by the The Hollies had it as a Grammy Award song in 68, somewhere in there. And so Michael released that together with the Imperials.
So that's how that came together. But then when I was talking to The Imperial's about doing this show, I said, we should really just come in here and really rocked the place and I brought up the name Leon Potillo and the Imperials were like, are you serious? We used to open for him. Look at that.
So we have, you know, again, you know, you got these guys that have gone out and created impact. with over 45 number one songs and awards like crazy. Even Michael, you know, Michael's songs were Grammy awarded on the Denise Williams album.
So he wrote songs for her and they all got Grammy awards.
So it's going to be a great night, celebration of Christ, celebration of Thanksgiving, and at an appropriate time, right, in the month of Thanksgiving, which to me is my favorite holiday of the year because it doesn't, I mean, the only stress involved is did we get the turkey cooked right? Yeah. And how do I get up off the couch after the football game? Yeah. You know, it's not so commercial as everything else.
Yeah. Yeah. And we're just so excited that the Imperials. And Leon Potillo and Michael Peterson and Caleb Went will be here for our banquet.
So here's what we're doing right now. There are costs involved, and so what we're doing, we're having to charge, but it's well worth it. The value is there for sure, okay?
So what we're doing is we're offering a VIP ticket. For $75, and what that will give you is actually to have dinner with. The Imperials with Leon Patillo and Michael Peterson and Caleb Went On the night before the concert.
So that's going to be at the Hilton Garden Inn in Layton at the Davis Convention Center. It's all kind of combined right there.
So if you buy a VIP ticket when you go to that website that I mentioned earlier and you sign up for a VIP, the first 75 people though, get this. After 75 people, we don't really have room for any more, but you can be one of those 75 to have a time to meet the artists, you know, and just maybe say a quick hello to them. And it'll just be a blessing. You'll hear from them. They're going to share some testimony of thankfulness and gratitude to the Lord.
And this will really be, it's a theme, it's a marker of a true believer of Christ, I think, because the minute we start griping and moaning and groaning, then we forget who God is. I mean, sure, we are all going through something. We're all going through something, and there's no doubt about that. Wait till you hear of Michael Peterson's testimony of things he's gone through. But we can always ask the Lord for strength, and he'll give it to us, and we'll praise him for who he is, for being with us as believers.
And so. Pat's, you know, pray for Pat as he's. He's the manager for the Imperials and he's putting concerts like this all together. What's coming up? Later in December, can you share that?
Yeah, so Russ Taft is coming back into the Imperials, and he'd made a commitment to do that before. Before he made this commitment, before after he was tied up with Steve Taylor.
So he's doing a tour with Steve Taylor all through the Christmas holidays. And the Imperials have several shows lined up during Christmas, mostly down in the South. You know, they're very strong down in there in Tennessee. We're doing a grand old Opry in Tennessee.
So we've got quite a bit of stuff going on. But next year is going to be the year. 2027 is going to be the year we're going to get everybody on track. And this is probably going to be a package that we're looking at because I've already been talking with Live Nation and they're like, you serious? You're putting stuff like that together?
And I said, yeah, so we'll be talking to you guys. And they were pretty excited about it. They don't do a lot of. Christian artists. You know, but they came out for this one and said, we'll catch the one in Nashville so we can see what it looks like, and then we'll go from there.
Well, I'm so grateful to have met you, Pat. You've been encouraging to me, and likewise with these other men here that I've met along the way who have chosen to be a sponsor for this concert. I'm going to quickly just breeze through them because I want you all to be praying for this. Business owners, ministry, you know, servant leaders here in our community. Let me just go through them really quick.
One is Ogden Valley Community Church. They're up in Huntsville. It's a good Bible-based, Bible-believing Christian church up there, and they're a sponsor for the concert. And then we have 70x7. This is a kind of a ranch, like a campout for fathers and sons to go to.
The ministry is called 70x7. And if you wanted to go to their website, it's 70x7.farm.
So kind of a different website, but 70x7.farm, you can learn more about what they're trying to do. And then we have two business owners. One is Chris Gurney, and he's with Cornerstone Financial. He's a Christian, a super Christian guy who will help you with your IRAs and your retirement planning and investments. And he'll keep it just the way you're looking for it to be.
He knows all he's been doing this for a number of years, and I was referred to him by trusted friends, and I'm really grateful for the the chance to have met him. He's a sponsor. And then we have Dr. Joseph Albano. If your knees are getting crackly like mine when you walk downstairs, If your elbows, if your ankles are starting to go, okay, he has.
He has he has Perfected a treatment like PRT, plasma-rich therapy. Yeah, that's great. And it really helps. I've had it done twice, and it really helps. He'll take the stem cells out of your hip, like he did for me, and he'll shoot it into your joints where you need it, you know?
And you don't have to be laid up for eight weeks or nine months or whatever it is that they're gonna tell you if you have to have pins and stuff. Every case is different, but AlbanoClinic.com, I believe is the website.
So so Joseph Albano down in Sandy.
So four sponsors, and we have room for more. And we're we've put together like a a number of ways that that your your your ministry, your your business can be Just, you know, just spoken about at our banquet and at the concert, and we'll do it tastefully. We won't be pushy, but we're just gonna, you know, we'll even have like a bag for everyone attending with a little something, a little piece of a collateral, like some type of a little flyer or something like that. Everyone will hear about what the Lord has called you to do, and this would be just an amazing opportunity for us to. To utilize what God has given us in order to maximize this for God's kingdom.
And so, with all the craziness in the world, like we were saying earlier, right, Pat, I mean, this concert. Is not to replace the local church by any means. Of course, it's an evening together, but it's gonna bring Christians together. And it's gonna do discipleship and it's gonna do evangelism all at the same time. And we're doing what David did.
We've talked about this before. David, King David. He put together uh an aspect of the tabernacle in his day. That involved worship and music. Do you want to talk about that just for a minute?
Because we've talked about that. There's some passages in the Old Testament where it was like a concert going on all day long. I think it was all day and all night, if I'm not mistaken, for a number of months or years or something. And you know. You know, we all have our hang-ups.
We all need to be re- Aligned with the Lord, especially just when we're going through it and being thankful. Having gratitude is such an important key. And you can read all about that in the book of Psalms. It's gonna it's gonna Get us back in touch with the reality that God is real and He's with us.
So, as we kind of come towards a close. Pat, any thoughts that you want to share with our listeners that might be listening, praying for us? you know, wanting to support us. We need your support to get the word out, right? Yeah, and you know, I think it's important to pray about other things besides the choir.
So, if you have a friend that you think might benefit from this type of an event that maybe is not close to Christ, this would be a great event to bring them to so they could gain an understanding of what these, you know, popular guys have been doing all over the world. And quite frankly, none of them really care about that. They don't care about what they've accomplished. They're more about bringing people under Christ and helping people have a better life.
So, I think that would be the gist of the evening. Absolutely. You know, and thank you, Russ, for you know, making that phone call on that one Sunday afternoon. You know, God, God has used just picking up the phone in my life, it seems, just picking up the phone. And so, maybe if you're kind of like me, and maybe you can't put it in the phone.
Up drywall by yourself, or you can't put in a light bulb very well by yourself, even. But you just, for some reason, you just have that kind of audacity to pick up the phone and call somebody. You don't even know for sure it's going to happen. And praise God, look what happens.
Now, now we've got. We've got sponsors coming together, and we've got the Imperials coming out. Go on YouTube. Go on YouTube. If you've never heard of the Imperials, really quick as we're coming to a close.
I mean, they're a unique band. They're a unique vocal sound. But for someone who's never heard of them before, I mean, they've done stuff with like the Gaithers, haven't they? They've a long career with the Gaithers and Franklin Graham. Yeah.
In fact, they're doing the Dove in the Carolinas with the Graham family.
Okay. So, you know, they're they're very uh in fact the old days um oh the cove yeah yeah the cove i mean yeah yeah yeah right right franklin graham would uh have them go out in front of them And um g they would go out and proselyte in front of them, get the cities and the all the local choirs and everybody involved.
So Hey, we've got we've got to do that. If if you are listening and you have a heart to reach Davis County, you know, we have all kinds of opportunities. We need prayer teams. We need people to help with just all kinds of things.
So give me a send me a text message. Here's my cell number. It's 801-645-7433. That's 801-645-7433. And let's get a prayer team together.
Let's get all the people we need. We need people at the end of the concert to minister to others that are going to be there. They're going to be like. Probably emotional, and they're going to be wanting to pour their hearts out.
Some people are going to want to get saved, some people are going to want to rededicate their lives to the Lord.
So it's going to be intense, right? Get ready, get ready for this. It'll be fun. Yep. Yep.
Thanks for having us. Absolutely. Thank you so much for joining us here on Passion for Christ. You've been listening to the Truth Network here at AMA20. 103.9 FM.
and 95.3 fm here in Utah. And elsewhere across the Truth Network.
So, thank you so much, and we'll talk with you again next week on this good station. Before we sign off for today, please know that all of us here at Utah Partnerships for Christ appreciate your prayers and support. We are also available to do Zoom call workshops or personal coaching on reaching Mormons for Christ. Contact us today at upfc.org. That's upfc.org.
Thanks so much for joining us on another edition of Passion for Christ.
