HOLLAND TOWNSHIP, MI — A recent email blast to the Ottawa County Patriots’ mailing list included an eye-catching line.

Junkyard Prophet, a Christian metal band tied to the Annandale, Minn.-based You Can Run, But You Cannot Hide International ministry, would be coming to play a concert this weekend in West Michigan.

But, the email read, full disclosure: “The program is not without controversy. ‘Youcanrun’ [sic] was declared a ‘hate group’ by the Southern Poverty Law [Center].”

That hasn’t stopped Jim Chiodo, a local Tea Party organizer who worked to bring Junkyard Prophet to town, from believing 1,000-plus area teens will turn out to see the band play and hear its controversial drummer, Bradlee Dean, give a presentation after the show.

“I will interject only one thing,” Chiodo said, jokingly, before deferring further comment on the event to You Can Run spokesman Jake MacAulay. “They better get there early.”

The free, three-hour event is slated for 5 p.m. Saturday at the West Ottawa Performing Arts Center, 1024 136th Ave.

By Chiodo’s estimation, demand for the show will far exceed the 1,000-person limit. Space will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

The $12,000 cost to bring Junkyard Prophet to West Michigan was largely raised through donations from private individuals and businesses in the Holland area.

Though not an official Ottawa County Patriots event, multiple members worked to facilitate the show.

The controversy surrounding You Can Run International's designation as an anti-gay hate group stems from remarks by founder Bradlee Dean on his nationally syndicated radio show and column on WorldNetDaily, a right-wing blog.

Junkyard Prophet also was briefly thrust into the public eye earlier this year after a controversial assembly at an Iowa high school where band members reportedly made disparaging remarks about gay people.

Despite this, MacAulay points to what the ministry is calling a “no-holds-barred” question-and-answer session following the concert as evidence the group's stances have largely been misconstrued.

“We take a Biblical stance on a lot of topics and issues such as life and the family, things like that, you know, God in the public realm,” MacAulay said, adding dissenting viewpoints are welcome during the forum.

“It gets pretty colorful sometimes,” he said of the events, “depending on who comes. Most of the time though it’s very straightforward, very American.”

You Can Run International made the Southern Poverty Law Center’s 2011 anti-gay hate group list because of multiple remarks by Dean, such as those during a radio show in 2010.

Dean reportedly claimed while on air that "On average, they [homosexuals] molest 117 people before they're found out. How many kids have been destroyed, how many adults have been destroyed because of crimes against nature?"

In response to outcry from the March 2012 event in Iowa and other instances, MacAulay insisted the group is not “anti- anything.”

“We’re just standing on the values that we believe in, and what the Bible says,” MacAulay said, adding You Can Run International is “pro-family” and “pro-life.”

Dean's presentation, MacAulay said, will center on implications of the U.S. Constitution in a modern setting.

It then "contrasts that with what does the media believe, and how our media, mostly pop culture media, have taken our traditional morals and values and turned them upside down," MacAulay said.

The controversy surrounding the group might have been enough, though, to lead one West Michigan student group to reject an opportunity to host Junkyard Prophet.

In his email on the Ottawa County Patriots mailing list, Chiodo says Hope College turned down a request to have the event on campus.

College spokesman Tom Renner clarified Tuesday all campus events during the school year must be hosted by a student organization.

Renner said the Hope College Republicans student group was approached to host the event, but told college leaders they decided against the idea.

“This group approached the student organization Hope Republicans,” Renner said, “and Hope Republicans were of a mind that they did not wish to sponsor it. And the college respects the will or the decision of the student group.”

An email sent to the Hope Republicans and a group representative seeking comment went unreturned Tuesday, but Hope Vice President and Dean of Students Richard Frost emailed MLive to reiterate Renner's statement.

Below is YouTube video footage uploaded by You Can Run of the controversial Iowa assembly:

Zane McMillin may be reached through email and Twitter.