If you’re heading off to a Christian summer festival in the coming weeks, you might be feeling a range of emotions. These eight suggestions might help you make the most of your time away.

—

There are lots of brilliant Christian summer festivals, conferences and events happening right now. It’s so exciting that they can take place again after severe disruption during the last couple of years. These events form a significant part of the expression of Christian faith in our nation and have done so for decades. I think of New Wine, Limitless, Focus, Youthscape, Ventures, Spring Harvest and many other conferences and events.

I have been going to Christian festivals and camps for as long as I can remember. Growing up we would go as a family to Skegness for Spring Harvest. Then when I became a student, and when my faith came alive at my local church HTB, I would go away to Focus every summer. It was such a highlight.

Focus was fundamental to the growth and development of my faith. I found that God did some things in me during those six days away that just wouldn’t have happened elsewhere. I found life long friends at Focus. I grew in my prayer life at Focus. I met my wife at Focus, we took our church plant to focus, we camped with a 1-month old baby at Focus, we worshipped through the night at Focus, we laughed and cried, we got inspired, we were filled the Spirit of God, we prayed for each other and received prayer.

There were so many remarkable moments in worship as well as holy moments in conversation around a BBQ. Like one big family, or movement. It was a foretaste of heaven.

The reason I’m writing about it here is because we have taken our church away with us for about 10 years, and there were some things I would encourage our people with to help them make the most of their time away. These things maybe helpful to you as well. Perhaps you’re about to head off to a Christian festival. Maybe you’re reading this in the car on your way to one now? You might be feeling a bit apprehensive.

Let me tell you that if you lean into the opportunity in front of you. You will very likely come back from your time away having met with God in an incredible and transformative way.

So here are some ideas to help you make the most of your time away.

1.Get prayed for

Usually at the end of main sessions or in the prayer tent or over a burger there are plenty of opportunities to receive prayer. I would always encourage our people to take as many opportunities to be prayed for as possible. It’s always a good idea to pray and not only that you never know what God might say to you through the person praying for you. Time and again I have received a prophetic word from some I didn’t know that was spot on, faith raising, joy inducing and heart expanding. If you don’t take up the opportunities for prayer you might be missing out. Consider your posture when it comes to receiving prayer. Is it more ‘lean in’ than ‘sit back’?

2.Pace yourself

There will be loads of seminars, bbq’s, after hours events. We would often sleep on the beech around a bonfire, but you can’t possibly do it all. Have a look at the programme to see what stands out to you. Don’t let FOMO drive you to go to everything. Ask God to help you with your schedule but also with those impromptu moments of catching up with people and making new friends. Also, if you are more of an introvert, you may arrive at a festival and think to yourself that you’ve made a terrible mistake. Don’t worry. Just pace yourself. You know the space you need. Don’t be embarrassed about getting that space.

3.Don’t let fear prevent you from engaging

Fear will often crop up at events like these. Fear of missing out. Fear of speaking to new people. Fear of going forward to be prayed for. Fear that you won’t know anyone. Fear that you may feel out of your depth. So don’t be surprised if you feel fear or anxiety at different points. Stepping back a moment, these events are actually quite unusual and unique environments. There’s no training you go on before you go away. You were likely at work on the Friday afternoon, you leave the office, and then before you know it, you’re camping in a field near a ‘big top’ with your church friends. It can be a bit of an adjustment. The key in whatever context is to not let fear dictate your actions. Fear is never from God. Be aware of it, give it to Jesus and move forward and step into the things that God has for you during your time away.

4.Be clear about why you’re away

I think it’s helpful to be clear in your own mind and heart why you have come away. Ultimately, I would suggest it’s to meet with Jesus. There will be some other significant aims as well like spending time with your church family, receiving some good practical teaching, being equipped for the year ahead. All of that is good but I would say it’s worth noting down in a journal somewhere or being clear with yourself what you would love to get out of the week. Why don’t you turn it to God in prayer. Tell him about it.

5.Be present

It’s so essential to make sure that you are present in the moment and not looking over your shoulder at the next event, the next conversation the next place you need to be. Next time you’re in a conversation with someone at a picnic or church lunch, just enjoy it. There’s no hurry. Relax into it. That doesn’t mean you become their best friend, just relish the moment. Invite God into that moment. The same goes for those worship sessions, the prayer tent or seminars. Don’t worry about the next thing, just be available to God in those moments and ask him to speak to you and meet with you and renew his presence with you and those around you.

6.Prayer tent/worship

Book into the prayer tent or head along to after hours worship. Consistently these places have been powerful moments of encounter. Ask God to speak to you in the worship. Turn your phone onto silent, put it away if you need. Take a hard copy bible if it helps to avoid distraction and then watch what God does. There will be some who meet with God in other ways too, a walk on the beech, listening to worship through your airpods and journaling. Whatever it is, make sure you find time to lean into it and ask God to meet you there.

7.Community

I would go away to Focus in my 20’s with my friends and it was absolutely amazing. Some life long friends and memories were formed right there in that environment. Standing shoulder to shoulder in worship. Sitting next to each other in a sweaty ‘big top’, serving on the youth team, eating burgers. All of it created such an incredible sense of connection and fellowship. We experienced this on another level when we took our church away with us to focus. It was a joy to see each person encounter God in different ways and see a new excitement in their eyes as they shared about what they had learnt, or heard, or experienced of God. There are plenty of opportunities to catch up with people you haven’t seen for a while over coffee, or make new friends attending a seminar. Look out for those people God might be bringing into your orbit and look out for those people who might look like they feel a bit on the fringe.  

8.Kingdom networking

There are literally hundreds of meetings and connections taking place during these conferences and I would encourage you to look out for people that you can connect with on a professional level. You may know of people in your industry or sector who are further ahead than you professionally. Why don’t you see if you can connect with them over a coffee. Ask them questions. Share your heart with them and challenges and things that you are learning. Ask if they would pray for you. Equally you may have a growing vision or passion for something and it might be a good place to gather a few friends together to tell them about it and see if they might be interested to get involved too.

If you have just been away and come back, let us know below how you got on and what sorts of things you wished you had known before you went. But if you are still to go on a camp, wherever you are going this summer or over the next year, God bless you as you step out in faith, expectant that you will meet with Him. May you come away having had many transformative encounters with the Spirit, but also conversations and moments of connection with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.