Most booked speaker in America comes to Hamilton County . . .
Nathan Harmon is the most-booked speaker in the nation, and he is coming to Sheridan this week. Harmon tours the country talking to young people, from his own experiences, about inspiration, bullying, character, attitude, choices and decisions.
Photo provided by YourLifeSpeaks.org
At 6:30 p.m. on Friday, July 27 at CrossRoads Student Center, 414 S. Main St., Sheridan, will play host to a free event that was started by one of the kids who enjoys the center.
Pastor Chris Brooks from CrossRoads told The Reporter he is both humbled and a bit nervous about playing host to a speaker of Harmon’s caliber.
“One of our students reached out to him and said, ‘Would you come speak at our youth group?’” Brooks said. “She told me she did that and I thought, ‘It’s never going to happen.’ Then next thing I know he said he’d come for free to talk to our little group. He often talks to thousands at a time.”
This is a free event that is open to the public.
“He’s is just all about helping kids find the better road. Seeing how much excitement everyone had after we announced he was coming here – there’s just something about him. God has just given this guy an incredible gift. Kids hang on to every word he says.”
That focus on living a better life in the face of difficulty is also the focus at CrossRoads. Brooks said the mission of his center is to help local kids, especially those with a higher risk for drug use.
“A lot of the kids that come to us are from severely broken homes, which reaffirmed that this is exactly what God wanted us to do,” Brooks told The Reporter. “I have at least four kids where one or both parents are in prison right now. Once I said, ‘Raise your hand if you know somebody who does drugs,’ and every hand in the building went up. The drug thing here is a really big deal.”
Brooks said his center, which is staffed by himself, his wife and one assistant, does everything they can both to get Sheridan youth to know Jesus and to give them better life skills to make better decisions.
Harmon is a speaker who fits that message perfectly. According to Harmon’s website, YourLifeSpeaks.org, “On July 17, 2009, Nathan was drinking and driving and his world turned upside down. While talking to Priscilla Owens who was in the passenger seat, Nathan wasn’t paying attention to the road and crashed into a tree. Priscilla lost her life the next morning. Nathan was sent to jail afterwards and was incarcerated for three years and nine months.”
Since then, “Nathan has dedicated his life to scream and shout from every mountain top that ‘Your Life Speaks!’ Your life is important. Your life and voice have the ability to overcome every obstacle and every situation. Nathan has traveled the Midwest region of the United States, speaking to thousands of students and assisting the students with tools they need to navigate the difficult world of life.”
CrossRoads is currently open from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays, from 7 to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sundays.
You can learn more about Nathan Harmon online at YourLifeSpeaks.org. You can also search for him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Information about CrossRoads can be found at this link.