My parents have been long time fans of the Gaithers, and when I heard that they were coming to a town near us, I just had to get tickets as an early Christmas present for them!   They do not like crowds and usually will shy away from places such as this extremely large arena.  Last night, though, I was hoping that their discomfort would subside long enough for them to enjoy the beautiful gospel music that the Gaithers Homecoming had to offer.

Boy, oh boy what a treat!  They had so many wonderful artists that performed last night that it is hard to even attempt to name them all.  Just know that they touched a lot of hearts and lives last night in their message through song.

There were traditional hymns for the holiday season to newer ones thrown in the mix for our listening pleasure.  They even had my favorite “Mary Did You Know,” which was written by Mark Lowry who was with the Gaithers from 1988-2001.  Mr. Lowry was not there last night, though, as his mother passed away Monday, and the funeral service was actually held yesterday.  However, they performed this song in his honor and in his absence.

Upon our entrance into the arena, they gave us all little red keychain flash lights.   We thanked them for their gift as we went to our seats not truly realizing what this little light would be used for until the concert began.   Bill Gaither said that he wanted to see all of our little lights shining throughout the concert.  On certain songs they would bring the house lights all the way down, and every where you looked you could see all of the little lights shining all over the arena.   On a few songs, they asked us to blink the little lights on and off for “stars.”   That was a sight to see as well.   It added to the whole concert experience!

The whole musical experience lasted for four hours.  Yes, that’s right.  Four hours.  We were actually surprised when Mr. Gaither laughed and said that he hoped we were comfortable as they planned to go until 11 p.m.  Much to our delight, Mr. Gaither was not joking at all, and the music, laughter, entertainment, and voices lifted up in praise continued for four beautiful hours!  This was, by far, the best musical experience we have ever had!

My parents agreed that they have enjoyed seeing the Gaithers on their television broadcast, but the experience in person was just out of this world goodness!   I can guarantee that if those in attendance last night were not in the Christmas spirit when they arrived, they were by the end of the evening!

What a blessing they were to my heart and to that of my parents.  My precious mother said she couldn’t let herself go completely in this worship experience as if she did she might start shouting and praising the Lord Pentecostal Holiness style.  🙂

Here’s a picture of the entire cast from last night.   If you’re familiar with the Gaithers, you may recognize a few faces.   There are some new faces, but they were all very talented artists!  We are thankful that we were able to be a part of this experience last night celebrating Jesus Christ, Our Lord!