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Fear, anxiety, panic and depression did not stand a chance against God and the hundreds that gathered at the Tower Center at Unity Square in Bartlesville on Saturday night for Freedom Fire 2020.

(CLICK HERE for the Audio Feature of this Story)

Pictured right is Oklahoma Wesleyan University men's basketball coach Donnie Bostwick hugging someone after they were baptized in the fountain at the Tower Center at Unity Square (Photo courtesy: We Are Messengers)

Darren Mulligan, the lead singer of the Christian music group We Are Messengers, headlined the event and encouraged those in attendance to hold onto God, trusting Him with their lives through faith, hope, and love. He said God gives us those gifts of faith, hope and love.

Mulligan also provided empowering words to all seeking to be set free in a year that has seen people suffer through a global pandemic, racial tensions, and natural disasters. He said the media is a "bunch of punks that are liars that came to kill, to steal, to destory," but the truth of God's Word says that we are all brothers and sisters, and we have transferred from the kindom of darkness into the Kingdom of the Sky.

The acclaimed Irish American band We Are Messengers is a rag tag group of friends consisting of Mulligan (lead vocals), Kyle Williams (guitar), Drew Kerxton (drums) and Raul Aguilar (bass) who still believe that it’s possible to change the world. The band identifies with the hurting, the outsider and the underdog, and offer songs like an olive branch to society’s marginalized. We Are Messengers has captivated audiences across the world with a live show that is as gritty and rowdy as it is tender and connective. We Are Messengers’ blue-collar work ethic and unfiltered honesty are front and center on Power - an album worthy of its name.

Power’s dozen tracks are as diverse as the band’s fanbase. From the Gospel-charged title track and reggae-inflected “Love,” to the Irish lilt of “Home” and the message of self-acceptance found on the number one radio single “Maybe It’s Ok,” the album uses a spectrum of sonic textures woven together lyrically by the one thread that sets We Are Messengers apart from other bands: their uncanny ability to speak the truth in love.

Also performing during Freedom Fire 2020 was Leanna Crawford, with songs that spoke honestly about doubt and insecurity as well as the hope Christ offers in our darkest moments. She said you do not have to live in the lies that people have told to you because it is the Word of God that defines you; the Word of God is all that matters.

For the past two and half years, the singer-songwriter from northwestern Washington, Leanna Crawford, has been writing, touring and singing with some of the biggest names in the Christian music industry. Crawford has gained more experience than many artists do in a decade, and while her music certainly displays the vocal and songwriting talent of a rising star in CCM, her grounded and honest lyrics make her feel more friend and confidante than star, more approachable than untouchable.

Other artists that performed at Freedom Fire 2020 were B-Wade, Kailey Abel, and the Aaron Micheal's Band.

Winner of three 2020 Tulsa Music Awards for New Artist of the Year, Christian Artist of the Year, and Single of the Year, the Aaron Michaels Band carries a powerful anointing and passion for sharing the love of Jesus. With a testimony full of faith and grace stemming from addiction, depression, anxiety, and feeling not worthy comes a real, relatable, heart felt sound that touches hearts and souls. Aaron has played with musicians and bands such as 7eventh Time Down, Disciple, Seventh Day Slumber, Spoken, Audio Adrenaline, Kari Jobe, and TobyMac just to name a few.

Kailey Abel is said to have grown up in a tight-knit family in a small town in Oklahoma. Abel's dad was a pastor, so she always had an opportunity to sing onstage, and that began her love of music. Her parents opened their home to the foster care system in 2015 and became one of the only open foster homes in the area. In the past four years, they have fostered 15 kids, and Abel decided to continue helping those in need by studying music therapy in college. After being a part of ORU Worship for the last four years, Kailey has just recently signed a management deal and begins her professional music career.

Bobby Wade (B-Wade) has one of the most remarkable stories of God’s Amazing Grace that you will ever hear. He has begun recording many of his songs over the past few months and is eager to share his passionate love for Jesus to the world through his passion of creative rap.

Freedom Fire 2020 came alive in a vision Oklahoma Wesleyan University men's basketball coach Donnie Bostwick had in the middle of one night in January when life was easy in Bartlesville, the nation, and the world. On Saturday night, Bostwick told the crowd that he asked God many nights on the stage leading up to the event if He was going to show up on Saturday. Bostwick said God told him that they were going to bring people away from fear and into freedom apart from pornography, lust, greed, eating disorders, addiction, and all diseases. He said all are welcome at God's table.

Here's what Bostwick said leading up to last Saturday's event:

"January 2020, after seeking God through fasting and prayer for months, I was woken up in the middle of the night and given a vision. The vision was about a great harvest. My part in the harvest was to start a fire in a field in the center of the United States. I was told that Satan was going to attack the world with four weapons at a level we have not seen. The four weapons were Fear, Anxiety, Panic and Depression.

Keep in mind this was January 2020 and things in the USA were as good as they have been in years. I asked God what field? I felt everyone was going to think I was crazy if I started talking about these four weapons and an attack by the enemy. I have learned though, if God speaks, I jump!

God told me I was to bring His children together in a field and host an event focused completely on bringing glory to His son Jesus. God let me know that if we did this, then He would display his power, bringing a Freedom Fire from heaven to set everyone free of these four weapons of the enemy. Not only that, but everyone will be set free of all issues and addictions associated with them as well.

In March 2020, as you know, everything changed beginning with the COVID-19. The Pandemic was followed by racial tensions our country has not seen in a very long time. It was at that time I was able to finally see and understand God’s vision about the weapons that He had let me know were coming. It was also at that time that I knew that God was going to do something so special on September 19th at Freedom Fire 2020!

For months, I sought God about what music artist that He desired to bring. All roads kept ending with Darren Mulligan and We Are Messengers. Who better to be a part of setting people free with Jesus awesome love than a former broken sinner whose testimony and music has touched millions."

By the night's end, approximately 25 people were baptized in the fountain at the Tower Center at Unity Square. As Bostwick has said, "2020 can't cancel God."

Pictured below is more sights from Freedom Fire 2020 courtesy of Trey Stumpff.