There’s an industry adage that there are two kinds of rock music: the sinful kind and the kind that sucks.

But a burgeoning movement of bands seeks to erase that sentiment by shedding some light on the subject.

Saturday’s Rock the Light concert at Starlight Theatre plays host to 22 bands in the contemporary Christian genre, 14 of which are local. And these aren’t the type who come wielding acoustic guitars and “Kum Ba Ya” songbooks. They’re planning to rock the venue with walls of feedback, pummeling rhythms and a soul full of conviction.

“I had misconceptions when I first got involved,” said Bill Hartnett, vice president of events and entertainment at Starlight and a major organizer of the event. “I thought it was going to be a little more low-key or laid back, but what surprised me was the high energy. It was just as much of a full-on, energetic, kids-having-a-great-time situation the only difference was you didn’t have the issues with drugs and alcohol that you would have in some secular shows.”

Now in its third year, Rock the Light is magnifying its scope even more. This year will see the addition of a third stage to accommodate a full roster of national and regional artists, not to mention the usual assortment of vendors and promotional activity. Think of it as “Call-apalooza.”

We’re about 30 percent bigger,” Hartnett said. “But we’re still concentrating it in the same amount of time one day.”

Hartnett decided to expand the event (he expects about 8,000 people to attend) because of the quality of local Christian bands who were interested in appearing. Along with organizers/sponsors from YouthFront and Star 102, Hartnett shared the task of selecting which artists would perform, a process that proved eye-opening.

“We received 49 submissions,” he said. “We each rated them separately and compiled those ratings. It’s a simple little six questions about ‘Do they fit the genre? What is their energy like? How is their production?’ At that point we were only looking for seven bands, but the best possible score on those sheets was 60, and we had eight bands that were over 56. With three people independently doing that, it’s a pretty strong statement that there’s some really great local bands.”

In addition to hometown acts such as Aslan’s Child, Clint K. Band and Until Tomorrow, Rock the Light is bringing in a congregation of national talent.

“We’ve had great headliners in the past, like Jars of Clay, Jennifer Knapp and Newsboys last year,” Hartnett cited. “But far and away, Third Day is one of the hottest bands out there in contemporary Christian music.”

The promoter believes these particular groups also treat events like Rock the Light with an extra level of enthusiasm.

“All the bands have a little different mindset when they play a festival,” he said. “There’s more of a teamwork attitude about trying to get the message out, and less about ‘I’m on tour. This is MY show.’ Probably the biggest difference is there’s such a strong message in a Christian show. There’s probably a bit more meaning to it than a secular show.”

For ticket information and start times, visit www.rockthelight.com.