When Ashton Dickinson, 18, was at a three-day Christian music festival and “Jesus Revolution” last summer in New Hampshire, he had an experience that seems a perfect fit for his ardent yet independent take on Christianity.

At the festival, the Maine Central Institute senior was loitering one night at his “smelly” campsite when he heard some familiar, crashing guitar chords drifting from far across the campground.

“I heard [the song] ‘Flood’ playing. So I ran-all the way across the camp, across the bridge, and got there for the end of the song,” Dickinson said.

He found himself among thousands of self-proclaimed Christian youth, swaying to the song that has become a kind of anthem for young Christians.

The moment was ripe for a religious experience, but Dickinson held back. His heart and mind were not swayed by what he termed a “crowd mentality.”

“If anything spiritual did happen … I wanted it to be genuine,” Dickinson said. “I wanted it to be because of God, not because of all these people around me.”

Dickinson, from tiny Detroit in mid-Maine, converted a few years ago from a Unitarian Universalist upbringing to a Baptist faith. At that time, “Flood,” by the Christian-grunge band Jars of Clay, was receiving a lot of airplay on mainstream radio stations. It topped alternative rock charts in 1995.

Legions of young Christians, who are sometimes torn between doing what is cool and what is right, have taken to heart “Flood” and other Christian rock songs.

“Christianity is still not cool,” Dickinson said. “One of the things that’s kind of a trend in the faith is that when things are persecuted, it forces people to strengthen their beliefs.”

One way that has happened is through music, Dickinson believes.

“Mainstream music, which has been driven for so long by sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll – well, it’s kind of nice to see that new force in there and that people are making music a tad bit deeper than sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll,” he said.

Mainstream music, and venues that showcase it, have noticed what young Christians like Dickinson realized right away: There is a market for rock and pop that goes deeper, and is more religious, than the norm.

In that vein, the Maine Center for the Arts at the University of Maine in Orono will bring Jars of Clay to its stage Oct. 17.

The show in 1,600-seat Hutchins Concert Hall is nearly sold out. It marks the first time a Christian rock band has taken the MCA stage in at least seven years. Adele Atkins, the arts center’s associate director, said Christian rock fits into MCA’s mission, which is to present a range of cultural events in eastern Maine. “We knew that Christian rock has become a lot more mainstream – it’s really popular.”

The box office appeal of the Jars of Clay concert, though, was a small surprise, she said.

Area church youth groups have bought blocks of tickets to the event, and WHMX-FM 105.7, a Christian radio station in Bangor, has heavily promoted the show.

“We’re really excited here to have this event,” Atkins said. “We’re thrilled to have been able to program something there’s obviously a lot of appeal for.”

Jars of Clay’s longtime critical and commercial appeal has certainly not hurt general interest in the event. The band is composed of four men who met more than a decade ago when all were contemporary Christian music majors at Greenville College, a Christian liberal arts college in Greenville, Ill.

The musicians chose a name for their band that was inspired by a verse from 2 Corinthians 4:1: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not for us.”

The guys who became Jars of Clay thought the name would be a good reminder to stay humble, in case commercial or critical success came their way.

Come it did.

Since winning the Gospel Music Association Spotlight Competition for new bands in 1994, the band has garnered three Grammy Awards and sold millions of copies of their 10 albums. Four tracks from their eponymous debut album reached the top of the Billboard charts. In total, they have had 16 No. 1 radio hits.

Despite this secular success, the band members are trying to remain humble and true to their roots.

“The story we believe in is larger than our own, and that’s all we can rely on for truth,” Stephen Mason, the band’s guitarist, said in a phone interview Wednesday.

He said that the band, while sometimes exhausted from the years of touring, still gets a buzz from performing live in front of the youthful, energetic audiences it attracts.

“It’s pretty mind-blowing to be part of an evening where something you’ve worked on with three close friends has brought you to a large audience of people that have connected with it,” Mason said. “That’s a great gift.”

Fans like Dickinson, and Matthew Dodge, 24, a Christian-music show disc jockey at WMEB-FM 91.9, the University of Maine radio station, appreciate that gift.

“Jars of Clay have stayed very, very true to their message,” Dodge said. “They’ve had tremendous longevity in the music business. That’s not usual. And for them to have kept their commitment to Christian music, that’s great.”

Going to see Jars of Clay

Who: Jars of Clay with special guests Sarah Kelly and Trevor Morgan

Where: Maine Center for the Arts, Orono

When: 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 17

Tickets: Still avaliable. Call 581-1755