Creation Fest saved my Christian faith - now we must save it

Cornwall’s only Christian festival has been threatened with closure. Here, one 20-year-old volunteer shares how the event has impacted her own walk with Jesus, and urges other Christians to consider investing in the spiritual landscape of one of the UK’s most under-served regions

As a 20-year-old who has spent her whole life attending Creation Fest, I was devastated to hear that there is a chance the organisation may have to close. Like many festivals, the organisation has faced a huge number of challenges over the past few years – changes in leadership and financial funding, a global pandemic, increases in running costs and the cost-of-living crisis affecting everyone.

For a year, I have been volunteering with Creation Fest, helping to run their social media. I have witnessed the impact that it has on the local community and seen the deep love that everyone who works there has for the festival. More importantly, I truly believe that Creation Fest is a vehicle through which God has been working in the Southwest of England, and I pray that this will – somehow - continue.

I know this because I feel as though I have grown up at this festival. I attended the kids tent throughout my childhood, where I was first invited to accept Jesus into my heart. Then, in the youth venues, I learnt to worship freely. Later, I volunteered in the arts venue, the office and on the social media team.