On Saturday, I was fortunate enough to attend the kick-off concert of this year’s McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour in Atlanta, GA.  This year, the tour features the incomparable Bishop Hezekiah Walker as the headlining act and I had a BLAST.  Lemme tell you a bit about it–

Traffic in Atlanta was BRUTAL this weekend, but the concert was well worth the trip.  I arrived at Ray of Hope Church in Decatur, GA at around 5:30pm and met with some of the great folks that organized and executed the entire tour event.  Their passion– not just for putting on an excellent concert, but also for the philanthropic work that McDonald’s does– was evident and contagious.

After chatting with the organizers for a bit, I popped into Bishop Walker’s dressing room for a quick chat (I’ll give you a recap of our conversation in another post– he talks about his work with McDonald’s and, yes– plans for a new album!).

I made my way to my seat in the practically-packed sanctuary, and not a moment too soon– gospel artist and radio personality Darlene McCoy was just about to hit the stage to MC the event!

We heard a bit about McDonald’s 365black.com initatives, as well as other ways in which the restaurant chain gives back to the local community.  Aside from the famed Ronald McDonald Houses, in which provide a “home-away-from-home” to children receiving medical treatment, and their families.  It struck me as a really profound need that is somewhat easy to overlook.

After meeting two children who benefitted from the help of the charity– India and Terry– the concert began with urban gospel artist Canton Jones.  I think we stood on our feet the ENTIRE time of his performance, which included one of his latest hit tunes (and my favorite of the evening),  ”Window.”

Up next was Hezekiah Walker with a full band and members of the Love Fellowship Choir (there were 11, but it sounded like 40!).  I’ve always said they’re my favorite choir EVER, but concerts like Saturday night just serve to confirm that all over again.  Starting his set with “Power Belongs to God,” before moving to “Clean Inside” and “I’ll Make It,” the show was full of energy and the accompaniment of an entire audience singing along.

The pace slowed down a bit as the group moved into “Grateful” and ”I Need You To Survive,” during which Bishop Walker talked about the importance of the community outreach efforts of McDonald’s.

The night closed out with the entire audience on their feet, dancing and singing to “Souled Out.”

I STRONGLY encourage you to make plans to attend one of these events, folks.  The McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour not only provides uplifting entertainment and ministry, but you’ll get an opportunity to learn more about the heartbeat of one of the world’s largest companies.  And you’ll see that it does a bit more than serve some of the best french fries on this side of Heaven.

Nearly all of the events are FREE to the public and well worth your time.  For more info on the tour, including upcoming dates, visit http://www.mcdonalds.urbanministries.com/.