On Thursday, October 24, at 7 p.m., The Gathering Place, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and YoungLife will play host to the “Gathering of Champions” youth rally at Thomasville High School’s Veterans Memorial Stadium. This cost-free, community event is open to the public and families are encouraged to attend. 

This historic partnership between these three faith-based, youth-oriented service organizations “is no accident,” according to Adrian Burns, executive director of the Gathering Place Thomasville. 

“Allison Woodward, area rep for FCA, Jake Ankenbrandt, area director for YoungLife Thomas County, and I wanted to create an impactful event where we would be giving back to the community in a meaningful way,” Burns said. 

Along with a night of worship and fellowship for both students and the community, there will be prizes and give aways for the attendees as well as music by DJ Lil One. 

Also, taking the stage will be featured speaker, “Shep” Shepherd; one of the most sought-after communicators in sports ministry today. His relevant and timeless messages have captivated, inspired and motivated thousands of people around the world. His life story has been a source of transformation for celebrities, sports figures and CEOs, as well as high school and college athletes. His passion and devotion to seeing lives changed has allowed him to connect with people from diverse and varied backgrounds and cultures. 

In partnership with Melanie Martin, director of the Thomas University Pre-College Program, Shepherd will be touring the Thomasville City and Thomas County schools to give students a sampling of his motivational message of hope, inspiration and change as well as to issue a personal invitation for them to attend Thursday evening’s event. He will be speaking to students at Brookwood, Thomasville High, MacIntyre Park Middle School, Scholar’s Academy, Thomas County Central High, Bishop Hall and the Renaissance Center. 

With its main office in Brunswick, The Gathering Place, a community-based student leadership development organization, has served the youth of Southeast Georgia since 1981. The Thomasville office, located downtown, launched in June 2018 and has been active in local schools reaching middle and high school students through mentor groups, large outreach events, leadership camp and internships. 

“GPT’s overall goal, as an organization, is to create strong leaders who will have an impact on their communities and the world,” Burns added.