Those waiting in line on the sixth floor could be heard singing children’s church songs, such as “Jesus Loves Me” from inside the room as Cameron read to the children.
A mother who attended the reading posted on Facebook, “What an incredible morning and amazing turn out for Kirk Cameron and BraveBooks! Over 2,000 people arrived in support today. The Indianapolis Central Library’s six floors were flooded with tons of families waiting all while showing their support. Songs were sung, cheers were applauded and people who already had the book stood in line reading to the children waiting. We also saw a lot of familiar friendly faces, so fun!”
During Cameron’s reading, the public library announced over the loud speaker that the sixth floor was closed because it had reached capacity. The room of 170 erupted with applause and cheering that their presence was felt.
It was estimated that another 1,000 people were scattered throughout the floors of the library and outside who were there for the event.
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“The event today absolutely surpassed my expectations, and I was blown away by the amount of people who came out,” Cameron told ChurchLeaders. “I am so thankful to everyone for making the effort to show support. There is a movement starting, and today’s event marks the beginning of something special.”
Before he concluding his time, Cameron took a few questions from parents. One parent asked Cameron to share the most enjoyable thing about home for him and his wife. The 52-year-old father of six children replied that the family is the best educator for their children.
“Our favorite part was just the time that we got to spend with our children,” he said. “The most precious thing that we have with our kids is time…time with them is something we can never replace. A pastor once said to me, ‘If you send your children to Caesar to be educated, don’t be surprised when they come back Romans.’ God gave our kids to us. It’s our great privilege and sacred duty to train them up in the way they should go—I’m thankful for libraries and publishers like Brave Books who are giving us resources so we can do well.”
Cameron will be reading his new book in New York on Friday (Dec. 30) at another of the libraries that denied the actor their free hosted reading hour.
A Brave Books employee told ChurchLeaders that while they were discussing logistics for Cameron’s book reading at the Scarsdale Public Library in New York, the library’s contact person was clear they weren’t “partnering” with Cameron and his team, making it known that the library didn’t want to be a associated with the event.
The employee shared that they are donating a percentage of all their book sales at the book reading event to the library.
