17-07-2025
A free concert kicks off Wayne County's week of faith and outreach
A revival push in Wayne County is set to begin with a two-pronged kickoff, featuring worship, learning and a week of community outreach.
The community is invited to worship together and learn more about upcoming events at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, July 20, at Orrville Baptist Church, 204 Bell Ave., Orrville. The gathering is intended to prepare attendees for a weeklong revival effort that is scheduled to launch with a free public concert by David Leonard at 6:30 p.m. July 25 at Fisher Auditorium on the OARDC Wooster campus of OSU, according to a community announcement.
David Leonard is described as a nationally known contemporary Christian singer-songwriter, with songs such as "Good Lord," "Great Are You Lord" and "Come As You Are. " He is coming to Wayne County through River Radio, which has a regional station in Wooster.
From July 26-31, Wayne County churches are teaming with reviveOHIO, an organization that brings missionaries and volunteers from Ohio and beyond. The week is expected to include prayer, outreach, meals and worship, as local churches work together to reach out to the community.
'ReviveOHIO's mission is to unite and equip local believers to go out into their community to pray for people, share the good news of the Gospel, and make disciples of Jesus Christ,' reviveOHIO State Director Mark Burd said in the announcement. 'Wayne County will be the 20th county over the past nine years where churches have invited us to work alongside them for at least a week of this kind of special focus.
'This is a shift from the traditional method of just hoping everyone in the community decides to go to church on Sunday, Burd added. "We want to follow the example of Jesus Himself, and go into the marketplace where people are, and personally invite them to know Him. This is a great way to reach out and 'love our neighbors' without cramming religion down their throats."
Still time to get involved
At least 19 church congregations or individuals from those churches have indicated plans to be involved as of July 10 and organizers are encouraging more churches and individuals to participate.
'We still see a lot of opportunity to get involved in things like hosting a missionary or helping to serve a meal,' said Chris Clark, who is part of the local organizing group.
Opportunities to participate include attending training and outreach, hosting missionaries or helping with meal preparation and serving.
Daily testimonies and lunches will be hosted at various church locations at noon, followed by teams trained and going out at 2 pm.
For more information, visit or the reviveOHIO Wayne County Facebook page.
This story was created by Jane Imbody, jimbody@ with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: David Leonard concert to launch week of worship and service in Wooster
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