Big Church Festival is an ideal weekend experience for all Christians of all denominations. Imagine the joy of experiencing uplifting CCM sounds (Christian Contemporary Music) with thousands of other believers in the open air. The Pentecost weekend event is a celebration of different artists, churches and people of all ages from across the UK. Held in Sussex in the sprawling grounds of Wiston House, it welcomes both day visitors and campers.


Camping of course makes the experience more fun. It’s quite an adventure being part of a mega campsite made up of hundreds upon hundreds of tents of different sizes, shapes and colours, all living together side-by-side. That, in itself, is a wonderful picture of what the Church of Jesus Christ should look like. A place where Jesus is glorified and everyone is welcome.
What a picture to consider today, this Pentecost Sunday, the Birthday of the Church. Sitting here in the morning sunlight, in a camping chair next to my tent, writing this, I’m loving the warmth it brings.
To be honest I was a bit cold last night and I had to add on extra layers. Tonight, I will be better prepared. But the camping experience has been well worth it, in order to hear Bethel Music ‘Raise a Hallelujah’ on the main stage last night. It was lovely to see their songs LIVE including my favourite, The Goodness of God which speaks volumes. And of course all the many other artists bringing their unique sounds to the different stages.
Big shout out to the Big Sing at the Big Church Garden Stage, recently seen on Britain’s Got Talent. What a wonderful expression of God’s joy.
Going back to my camping experience, it was very special to go to sleep hearing the sound of beautiful worship songs of Amanda Cook resounding across the campsite from the nearby Worship Tent. We had travelled a long way to get to Big Church Festival so I was quite tired on the first night. But I do hope to participate in the late-night activities put on specially for all the campers tonight. Who doesn’t like a huge campfire?


God shines on Big Church Festival 2023
When one thinks of music festivals, especially Glastonbury, you may have a picture of marshy fields, muddy wellies, umbrellas and damp, wet tents. Thankfully Big Church Festival was nothing like that, with glorious weather this year. It was like God shone upon us, as we make up for the years of Covid and lost opportunities.
For me, the thing that stands out the most about Big Church Festival is the magnitude of the sheer entire operation. I grew up in a small church where numbers were sparse and when you didn’t attend you were sorely missed. So, I didn’t see first-hand the widespread popularity or reach of Christianity until I started going to such events as Reinhard Bonnke’s Fire crusades in the UK and of course, Soul Survivor which attracted more than 12,000 young people in the big top.
Big Church Festival attracts around 30,000 people across different sound stages with diverse genres of Gospel musics / CCM sounds so it is probably the biggest faith-based event in the UK. With so many people one might think, I don’t’ need to go, but you would be wrong. It is definitely something to be experienced first-hand. So I encourage you to make plans now to get your tickets for Big Church Festival 2024 at a reduced rate… And yes, you will definitely be missed if you don’t plan to attend in person.
Of course, you can watch Big Church Festival on TV. TBN UK does an excellent job of covering the event… and that’s also fine, but don’t miss out being one out of 30,000! If each of us plays our part, Christians in the UK can achieve so much more to ‘make our King famous’. The atmosphere at Big Church Festival is full of the fire of Pentecost and that after all is what the Biblical feast is all about. Igniting each other, as ‘burning ones’.



Also read:
Local church celebrates Jesus in the city centre on Easter Sunday
Fuel the Fire, a wake-up call for the Church to be revival ready
I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to hear this Christian festival going on in the UK! I am a Bible believing Christian in the USA, specifically Oklahoma. But I have ancestry that dates back to Wales and English, and I’ve always felt close to history of the UK.
I wanted to let you of the UK Christian newspaper know that I am praying for the UK, I’m praying that you Christians in the UK will be able to change the direction of your country.
As a Christian living in the USA, I have the same prayer for my country, but I wanted to let any Christian brothers and sisters across the water that I pray for your country too.
May God rescue both the UK and the USA! Bless you all.