What’s it really like to run a Christian festival?

The excitement in her voice was unmistakable. 

We were standing in the café area of a local church. I had just finished preaching, and a woman in her mid-70s was recounting the story of a young person she knew personally: “Her self-harm scars disappeared!” 

As it happened, I already knew the story. The young person herself had given her handwritten testimony to us at Limitless Festival in 2025. Here’s her own words, shared with permission: “I used to do self-harm because of anxiety, and when it was the second day of the festival I just started to pray, and my friend was praying for me, and the scars on my hands disappeared!”

It is a wonderful story, and one that I was more than happy to hear again. But as I listened to this kind woman retell it, I realised that the disappearing scars weren’t even the most remarkable part.

“She had gone along with two of her non-Christian friends,” the lady continued. “They wanted nothing to do with Christianity – completely disinterested and cynical about the whole experience. But when they saw her hands, free from the scars that had been there moments earlier, both of them gave their lives to Jesus!” 

Miracle moments

There have been moments in recent years, as we have gathered at Limitless Festival, where it genuinely felt as though I had walked straight onto the pages of the New Testament. I could tell you about the time I was preaching and a young Ukrainian refugee, who barely spoke a word of English, heard the entire sermon in her own language – just as on the day of Pentecost. And I can assure you, I don’t speak a single word of Ukrainian!

I could tell you about the time I was supposed to be preaching, but didn’t, such was the revelation of God’s holiness in that place. Young people were lying prostrate on their faces, some wailing in cries of repentance, others being set free from demonic oppression. 

I could tell you about the young people who attended with a group from their local Youth for Christ centre, with no church background of any kind, and gave their lives to Jesus for the first time. They went home, got involved with the Christian Union in their school, and invited some of their friends to come along with them the following year…where they gave their lives to Jesus! 

I could tell you about the time I had the privilege of leading an adult member of the production team to the Lord in the volunteer catering area, such had been the impact of what he had witnessed as we gathered. Or about the 2,540 young people who have responded to the gospel and given their lives to Christ over the last four years.

And I could tell you, quite literally, thousands more stories like these – more than this whole magazine could contain. And I do share these stories, because I want you to be encouraged. I want you to know that God is doing something in this generation of young people, the likes of which I have not seen in 23 years of youth ministry. The things you have read about in the New Testament are happening now. The very things you have sought the Lord for, fasted over and interceded about – sometimes wondering if your prayers are being heard – are being answered in our time. The Lion of Judah is roaring! 

And that is where most articles like this would stop.

But not today. 

Counting the cost

As much as my intention in writing is to give glory to God for all that He is doing, I also want to pull back the curtain and shine the light on the truly heroic individuals who count the cost, year after year, to make Christian events like Limitless Festival happen. Today I want to tell you about all the things you don’t see. 

I want to tell you about the people who process hundreds of DBS checks and thousands of references to ensure there is a robust volunteer team to host the young people attending. I want to tell you about the people who spend countless hours reviewing and writing policies to ensure we create a safe environment in which young people can encounter God. I want to commend those people who pour over budgets to ensure costs are kept to an absolute minimum, so that no young person – no matter their socio-economic background – need be excluded. 

I want to applaud the people who map out campsites, carefully considering the number of people, tents, marquees, medical requirements and electrical hook-ups who, in spite of all this complexity, go the extra mile by trying to site churches beside those with whom they already have friendships. 

I want to tell you about the people who walk thousands of steps around a showground site, hammering stakes into the ground, erecting flags and hanging signage. I want to tell you about the people who have had to clean up poo from a sink (true story!). I want to shine a light on the people who get up in the small hours of the morning, having barely slept all week, to deal swiftly and calmly with an arising crisis. I want to tell you about those people who, physically and spiritually exhausted, sweep the site to clear up every last piece of litter once the young people have made their way home. 

Because these are the hidden stories behind every miracle. These are the people without whom none of this summer’s Christian festivals would happen. 

Pushing through

I am often drawn to the story of the friends of the paralysed man who dug through the roof of the house to get their friend to the feet of Jesus (Luke 5:17-26). The friends could not heal this man, but they could get him into the presence of the one who could. And when they were confronted with obstacles that would have prevented them from doing so, they did not give up. They did not back down. They dug deep and pushed through (literally!). And as a result, that man’s life was changed forever. 

This is the testimony of the people I have described in these pages. There is no putting on an event like Limitless Festival (or the others profiled here) without encountering countless, sometimes seemingly insurmountable, obstacles. But they do not give up. The obstacles in question, of course, are not only physical and practical – they are spiritual. “Our struggle”, writes Paul, “is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). And we would be naive to think otherwise. We have felt the opposition of the evil one. We have seen untimely attacks on health, family, finances, even marriages. Because the enemy hates what the Lord is doing. God is healing, saving and restoring, but the enemy wants to “steal…kill and destroy” (John 10:10). I remind our team often that we are not merely hosting an event, we are engaging on the frontlines of a spiritual battle. We are contending for a generation. And, as such, it would be wise to “put on the full armour of God, so [we] can take [our] stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11), primarily through fasting and prayer as an integral part of our preparation. 

What you don’t see 

One busy evening at Limitless Festival, I walked into a small side room to find one of our team members sitting on the floor with tears in her eyes. She had been dealing with a challenging situation on little sleep and seeking to graciously engage with a somewhat confrontational individual (yes, even at a Christian camp!). I sat down next to her for a moment, heard about what was going on, and we prayed together. Then she sprung up to her feet like a jack-in-the-box. “That’s better!” she said. “I think I just needed a good cry.” And off she went, back into the mix of things, giving herself to serve Jesus and young people late into the night once more. 

The miracle stories are worth celebrating, certainly. But behind every miracle there are thousands of emails, hundreds of meetings, countless hours of work, long days, sleepless nights and many tears. Behind every testimony story you do see on Instagram, there are tenacious people you don’t see, offering faithful, sacrificial and unseen service to God. To me, those people are the story. 

So I write today in hope. In the same way I heard the delight in that dear woman’s voice one Sunday morning in March, I pray that these valiant soldiers of God will hear the delight in their Father’s voice, saying over them: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). 

Limitless Festival takes places 5-9 August at the Stafford Showground limitlessfestival.co.uk

Looking for a Christian festival to visit this summer? Read the Premier team’s list of recommendations