After four years of attending Christian festivals, Samantha Younger is asking whether the revival young Christians desperately need might look very different from what we expect.
I’m an A-level student based in Hampshire, and for the last four years, in an effort to grow in faith and find fellowship, I have attended a range of Christian festivals. This year I returned to Wildfires and left with plenty of food for thought about revival, young Christians and the importance of a personal relationship with God.
Revival is often understood as a spiritual awakening – drawing people to faith in Jesus and a renewed hunger for God that leads Christians to repentance, deeper faith and prayer. But what does that actually look like, particularly for young Christians?
I had been to Wildfires the year before, so I had a good idea of what to expect: big worship, great talks and a focus on young people. The main difference this year was a new youth area. I didn’t attend any of the services there, but a friend who did described it as an improvement, with variety in the talks for young people and more things to do between the main meetings.
I was camping with a church youth group rather than a group of friends. Our youth group encouraged discussion about the talks as well as worshipping together, helping us get to know people we might not otherwise have interacted with. It really encapsulated the feeling of Christian community at Wildfires. For those who haven’t been, it is worth explaining the atmosphere and set-up of the festival. It is charismatic – in capital letters.
READ MORE: Forget influencers, the women shaping the next generation may surprise you
The worship is mainly contemporary and can go on for hours at a time. There is flag waving, dancing and praying in tongues, particularly during the evening meetings, and they don’t shy away from it. Since the festival is only three days long, it also wastes no time throwing you into the deep end. Wildfires was born out of a prophetic word about revival, and it takes a central part in the teaching. The first meeting focused on the parable of the ten bridesmaids in Matthew 25 and preparing for Jesus’ second coming.
The festival has grown this year, with around 8,000 people attending, including 1,500 tickets reserved for young people in Years 7–13.
The festival has grown this year, with around 8,000 people attending, including 1,500 tickets reserved for young people in Years 7–13. I had many highlights. I particularly enjoyed an acappella rendition of ‘Give Me Oil in My Lamp’ on the first night, a talk on ‘finding peace in pressure’ in which Katherine Hill, Gemma Hunt and Joanna Adeyinka-Burford share their experiences of faith in their personal struggles. I also appreciated the work of Elam Ministries, a charity working with the Church in Iran, whose representatives gave talks about the persecuted Church.
I had an incredible time at Wildfires, and I would encourage anyone interested to go.
I had an incredible time at Wildfires, and I would encourage anyone interested to go. But despite all the praise I can give the festival, I came away wondering whether there could be a greater emphasis on what revival looks like in the day-to-day – the disciplines of Bible study, prayer and community, particularly among young Christians.
I came to faith when I was 14, through an encounter with the Holy Spirit at a Christian festival. My entry into faith came through a feeling. And when you are living a very privileged life without much meaningful hardship, perhaps that can seem like enough. But when I encountered hardship as a more cynical 17-year-old, I found myself chasing that feeling. When I didn’t experience the peace beyond understanding that I had heard sung about, I became bitter.
READ MORE: We are calling for a 40-day prayer and fasting relay for God to bring revival in the UK
More than 200 young people came to Christ on the first night of Wildfires, and the talks that followed continued on the themes of radical faith, what was dubbed ‘contending prayer’ and the Second Coming of Christ. All brilliant talks, but describing little of a foundation of quiet, personal faith needed to carry out such missions well and authentically. For all the idealisation of young Christians for their capacity for child-like faith and passion, we are still children needing to be introduced in words to the God we have felt - who He is and why we can trust Him.
The idea of a ‘quiet’ revival needs to be emphasised, not to tell people to water down their faith, but to spread Jesus in the same manner Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. To quote American poet and musician, Gill-Scott Heron, he said this about civil rights in the sixties but I think it applies here: ‘The revolution will not be televised - the thing that’s going to change people is something that no one will ever be able to capture on film, it’ll just be something you see in all of us and you realise ‘I’m on the wrong page, and I have to get in sync with everyone to understand what’s happening in this country’.
I still love the passion of Wildfires. I still love the worship, the community and the sense that something exciting is happening. But perhaps the real test of revival is what happens when new Christians go home. The challenge for me is not simply to chase another powerful encounter with God. It is to know him well enough that when the feelings fade, I keep following him anyway.
No comments yet