The Hilliard Institute

The Hilliard Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation offering sensory education programing, experiential learning, and academic research and publishing while also supporting philanthropic initiatives through fundraising and educational training and activities—all under the umbrella of the concept of Educational Wellness. 

The Hilliard Institute. 4440 Savage Pointe Drive. Franklin, TN 37064

Email Dr. K. Mark Hilliard at mark.hilliardinstitute@gmail.com

or Professor Jessa R. Sexton at thehilliardpress@gmail.com.

Son of a Preacher Man Tour and Revival 2023–2025

August 18, 2025  /  Jessa Sexton

by Dr. K. Mark Hilliard

Each year, for the past three years, I have traveled and toured in the late spring, summer, and fall on educational adventures throughout Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Michigan,  and a few other spots, in honor and memory of my dad, a lifelong preacher (making me the Son of a Preacher Man).

my parents: Jack and Lola Hilliard

So, I began contacting the churches my dad had established or preached for to see if I could “come back on his (and my mom’s) behalf and see how they were doing.” I have to note that my dad’s ability to be an effective preacher man was, in great part, related to the woman he married. My mom was a true partner in their ministry. 

This simple beginning of a little tour evolved into multiple visits to old and new venues each year, talking about my family and sharing the Gospel as Paul and Barnabas and Mark did. I began giving away free Bibles and speaking to thousands of people, about anything from mental/physical/spiritual wellness, to revival, to the Gospels, to living a good life on earth (a topic from the Beatitudes), to bringing a bit of “on earth as it is in heaven.”  

2023 Tour

In 2023, I began my Son of a Preacher Man adventures on what I called A Good News Tour and Revival. I initially traveled to about 5 churches—including one that no longer exists, but I was able to find 10 folks I knew there from 50 years ago, and we met at a local coffee shop. This was Jellico, a small town of about 1800 people in the mountains of East Tennessee. This is the place where my family initiated a house church that continued from 1968–72. Our supporting church during that time was the Highland View Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In fact, it was their brain child (more about that in the future).

I had always been a preacher’s kid. But while living in Jellico, I became “the Song of a Preacher Man.” I was 11–15 during our time there, and my dad just included me in all his mission efforts in getting to know the folks in our new town, and our new church. I went along to all types of gatherings as we worked to build this new church community, and it changed me. The local folks began to call my dad simply “Preacher Man,” and if I was with him they would call me, “the Son of the Preacher Man.”

Then, one Sunday night after church worship, some of us kiddos went from our house’s worship gathering spot into our family’s personal living area to watch the Ed Sullivan Show. This night (I believe it was November 1968), Ed introduced a new young singer from England: Dusty Springfield. She’d come to Tennessee to record her new album Dusty in Memphis, which included her new soon-to-be-hit-song, which she sang on the Ed Sullivan show that night: “The Son of a Preacher Man.”  That name has stuck with me ever since 1968 and has been refreshed in my new Son of a Preacher Man Tours and Revivals every year. 

So, in 2023, after traveling and making tour stops at five churches, someone who saw one of my Facebook articles called me up and said he did multiple hippie festivals throughout middle American and seeing that I was a preacher, professor, and had long hair, would I come to one of his festivals with a prayer tent? This I did, taking along with me several hundred of what was called the Hippie Jesus People Bible translation in 1968: Good News for Modern Man. (It is still being published but has since dropped the Modern Man bit and is simply the Good News Bible.) 

At this festival I gave away several hundred Bibles and talked with hundreds of young and old alike about Jesus and His Good New Kingdom of God story. It was such a beautiful addition to what I had been doing. Then, the producer of these hippie festivals told me he was creating a Jesus People Campout and Revival up in Michigan in memory of the 1960s–70s Jesus People Movement and asked if I would take part in that event. I again said yes.

I attended this event later that summer and spoke three times in the Big Tent, gave away several hundred Bibles, prayed for multitudes of folks, and baptized fourteen people. At this point one of my good friends of old, from Jellico, began to call my adventures, “on a Mission from God,” in reference to the Blues Brothers movie in 1980, where these two brothers were on a crazy mission from God to raise $5000 to keep the orphanage where they had been raised from being going under. 

References to songs and movies just kept coming.

2024 Tour

In 2024 I continued my tour, but now under the full title: Son of a Preacher Man: The Jesus People Tour and Revival. In that year, I traveled to multiple small churches, hippie festivals, farmer’s markets, coffee shops, small restaurants, and other places where I was able to share Bibles and talk about Jesus. In 2024 I talked with over 1000 people at events and gave away over 600 Bibles.

2025 Tour

In 2025 I continued my tour as named the previous year: Son of a Preacher Man: Jesus People Tour and Revival 2025. In my prayers for this year’s tour, the Lord continued to tell me to “go to the Word, to take people to the Word.”  All my lessons have been created directly from Scripture, mainly the Gospels and the book of Acts. At this point, I’ve already made these stops: a Jesus People festival, a hippie festival, three churches, a community library, a coffee shop, multiple restaurants and hotels talking with staff and visitors as well (even baptizing one individual at a local hotel), and more. I’m hoping to do two more festivals and create one or two old-time revival tent events.

Under the Holy Spirit’s directive this year, I bought 1000, high-quality Bibles to share. I felt it only appropriate to give the Bibles away free—and that they should be really well-designed. In this process I studied Bible translations for three months and selected thirteen different translations to give away and 40 different versions/designs. I wanted people to be able to pick out their own Bibles, that would meet them where they are. And I wanted to talk to every single individual who came into my vendor tent, about making this selection. I think I was successful. 

with my cousin, Scott Carter

The following are some details of my last two major events—including a Jesus People Festival in Trufant, Michigan, in July 2025 and a Hippie Festival in Maggie Valley, North Carolina in May. 

  • met with over 1000 people about Jesus and the Bible thus far

  • gave away over 700 Bibles (300 more to give away the rest of 2025)

  • spoke three times in the big revival tent at a Jesus People festival (15 People were baptized)

  • spoke on Mother’s Day, from the music stage at a hippie festival and gave away 100 Bibles

  • spoke about Jesus at farmers markets, coffee shoppers, libraries, old churches, restaurants, hotel lobbies, hotel breakfast rooms (Everywhere we stopped on my tour, I spoke with people about my tour and Jesus.)

  • met with hundreds of people in my Bible tent (some good help from my cousin Scott Carter)

  • prayed for folks, counseled folks, listened to folks, loved folks

This spring and fall have been the most consuming so far, yet it has been another wonderful experience, full of Godly Enchantment, with the Holy Spirit moving all throughout. I’ve still got a couple more events to go in 2025—and then on to 2026!

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