Editor’s Note: With this contribution by Nate Thompson of Whitesburg, Kentucky, the Yonder begins “Speak Your Piece," stories written by DY readers. Yonder is a big place, and we’ll only come to understand what is happening here by tapping our collective experiences. Thanks, Nate, for getting us started. Send to Speak Your Piece [1] .
By NATE THOMPSON
The Ramp Photo: Josh Wigginton [2]
There are two things that never seem to go unnoticed here in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky — how small the towns are, how beautiful the mountains are, and how many churches you can find. Ok, so, three things. Over the last several years there has been an awakening happening with the youth of America, and now this awakening is hitting homes across our nation, leaving an older generation to wonder what is going on. Most of the older generation is asking us, “Are we going to get in step and be a part of the move to God, or is this just a young person’s rebellion?"
For the past 10 years there was a place that was opened to facilitate the move to God among young people in the very rural town of Hamilton, Alabama. This was a town where Baptist and non-denominational churches reigned. The
"spiritual mother" who began this movement is a great female songstress, evangelist, and obedient Christian. Her name is Karen Wheaton [3].
“Mrs. Karen," as most call her, received a mandate from God to start a place for youth. She explained she didn’t want to see young kids ruin their lives. She wanted to change lives and set kids free. So she began The Ramp [4] — a gathering [5], or conference, to fill kids with the word of God and to change their lives forever.
As Mrs. Karen puts it, The Ramp is meant to “awaken a generation out of spiritual death and religious complacency, calling them into their individual purpose and corporate responsibility as an offensive army imposing the Kingdom of God.
(For podcasts of services at The Ramp, go here [6].)
The Ramp began to gain TV exposure in the early 2000's, giving Christians an idea of what the ministry was doing in one rural Alabama town. A lot of the people in the area began to picket The Ramp and told Mrs. Karen she was creating a sprit of rebellion in the youth of America. Many people began to complain that The Ramp was just a place for kids to hang out and pretended to be a place of worship. These people claimed that The Ramp trashed religious beliefs and threw morals out the window.
Actually, many people didn’t know what The Ramp was until they had talked to the kids who had gone there; then they began to see what The Ramp was all about. Soon there was a
coalition that was standing up for the ministry because it was good for the kids, not only in that part of Alabama, but for the kids of the nation.
After opposition to The Ramp died down, things
really began to take off. Mrs. Karen started a ministry team that consisted of young adults — called the Chosen — from high school seniors to college grads. It was a dance and drama team that inspired other dance and drama teams across the nation.
Out of the many kids who fill up the floor and bookstores there at The Ramp, about 90% of them are not from Hamilton – which is pretty intriguing. Only about 54% who attend are from Alabama. Most of the kids who attend the conferences in Hamilton are kids from rural areas and small towns, young people who want to be reached. Most live in what I like to call "diet" rural areas.
We from Kentucky marvel over the little hills they call mountains there in northwest Alabama, but some of their hills are just as beautiful as the great peaks in our part of the Appalachians. There's a common denominator between the kids who travel from all over the world to come to a little rural town, and that is to get something from God.
A lot of the parents today don’t understand the way kids are being brought up in Christ today. They think the music is of the devil and kids shouldn’t jump or even say a word in service, or even have a woman standing in the pulpit.
But we are ripping up religious trash that we have allowed to become a part of our walk with God; we are not letting the things from an older generation get in the way of our walk with Christ. Most parents who may attend church but aren’t in leadership in a church want to have "good" kids, not "godly" kids. And there is a whole movement of a generation that is hungry for the things of God and wants to see God change the face of a nation.
The Ramp is at the forefront of leading a generation into another great movement of God. This little rural town is one of the most powerful places on the face of the Earth — all due to the obedience of a little girl from a small town who never thought she would fulfill her vision. Mrs. Karen stayed strong and steadfast and is now known as a spiritual mother to millions of young adults and teenagers across the nation. Rural, suburban, urban kids alike might not share the same things in life, but when they meet in the rural town of Hamilton Alabama, they share the same heart.
NOTE: Go to the Forum section [7] of the Daily Yonder to discuss The Ramp and religion of a new generation.