Last Thursday House of Hope Southwest Michigan brought Christian rock band Ballenger to Delton Kellogg High
School for a free concert.
House of Hope Southwest Michigan is a nonprofit Christian charity designed to bring healing to emotionally
hurting girls ages 12 to 18. They offer a host of services including non-resident counseling, classes specific to
victims of sexual abuse, and sponsoring area events like last week's concert.
House of Hope Southwest Michigan is an affiliate of the National House of Hope.
Months of headache-inducing organization and painstaking planning ended in changed lives and melted faces.
Bill Ballenger, lead singer of Ballenger, held several assemblies throughout the week leading up to the concert to
both promote the upcoming show and to speak to local high schoolers on some of the most common problems
facing teenagers today such as suicide, alcoholism, and drug use. The concert was the culmination of the
assemblies.
Ballenger and his wife Jodi are the founders of Break the Grey, an organization dedicated to shedding a new light
on God in high schools all across the nation. Break the Grey isn't like church as many might know it. It's a
revolution. And that's exactly what happened at the event last week.
There were about 1,700 students and members of the community at the show and they made themselves heard
with staggering enthusiasm. From the first obligatory "How we all doin' tonight!?" the crowd was ear-drum
splittingly loud. All throughout the night, the energy never waned. Audience excitement was a palpable force, just
as present as the massive speakers and at times even louder than the music blaring out of them.
For about an hour before the opening band went on, Bill Ballenger's son Jared readied the audience for a great
rock show. He handed out door prizes, free shirts and CDs, and taught any behind-the-times concert goers the
proper head banging technique.
By the time Kalamazoo-based rockers and battle of the bands winners Slingstone Apostle hit the stage there
wasn't much need to warm up the crowd. The masses were already red hot. Any reservations the crowd might
have been holding onto was abandoned during the opening band's set. Delton High's gym was alive with students
putting to use their newfound head banging skills, throwing up their rock fists, and supplementing it all with
raucous screams.
Slingstone delivered a fantastic performance with charisma to spare. The crowd was riled up and ready for Bill
Ballenger and his boys to take the stage. Those in attendance began a chant for Ballenger: "Bill . . . Bill . . . Bill."
They clapped hands and stomped feet. When five shadowy silhouettes stepped on stage, the chants turned to
cheers.
Ballenger gave an electric performance. Energetic and entertaining, the band doled out one great tune after
another, including covers of Kelly Clarkson's "Since You've Been Gone," and Michael Jackson's "Beat It."
After the music was over with, Bill Ballenger spoke to the students one last time, as he had in the assemblies that
had gone before. He wrapped up the week by asking the students to yell out the names of their fellow classmates
who were killed because of their struggle with problems like drugs, alcohol, and suicide. The room erupted with
names. Nearly ever mouth had a name to share.
"See?" Ballenger said. "You're sick of this. You want a way out."
There was a way out, he said-a way to get a new kind of hope. Ballenger said God changed his life from one filled
with self-destructive habits to one filled with a kind of joy and hope he couldn't get anywhere else. He said Jesus
Christ could do the same for the students of Delton Kellogg High School. At the end of his talk, he asked for all
those who wanted a new hope to raise their hand.
Almost every hand in attendance was raised toward the sky.
The students of Delton High School took home more that night than a sore throat from a good rock show and
proof that Christian music could rock as hard as its secular counterpart. They took home Ballenger's life changing
words.They took home encouragement against depression and despair. They took home hope against feeling
alone in difficult times. They took home the message that God cares for them and he is waiting to save them if
they'll just turn their lives around to face his wide-open arms.
For more information about House of Hope Southwest Michigan, visit www.swmihoh.org.
For more about Bill Ballenger and Break the Grey, check them out online at www.billballenger.com.