In the summer of 2021, my husband and I went to a music festival. I grew up going to concerts, but I had never been to a music festival, and Austin had less experience than I did with similar events. The festival was called Light the Way; it’s a Christian music festival that brings in about ten awesome bands to put on an event for Christians from all over the nation.
Well, as soon as that weekend was over, I was already planning to go the following year.
Now, with the festival of 2022 done and over, I have to tell you all about it. I had been preparing for this weekend for months. We got the early bird special prices for tickets back in February before we even knew who all would be playing. Every few weeks, we checked who they added to the lineup of artists. When they announced that Crowder and Lecrae would be the headliners, I already knew it was going to be incredible.
We arrived twenty minutes early for the gate-opening, which was scheduled an hour before the first band would perform. Even at two minutes prior to gate-opening they were waving people on to drive past the entrance so as not to clog the narrow two lane road on which we were stalling. I laughed after we were waved on because as we drove around the corner, we saw that there was a line of twenty or more cars forming their own line, but they were hiding behind the trees and bushes down the road so they didn’t get sent away from the entrance and lose their spot at the front of the line. People were already eagerly anticipating what God had for them just beyond those gates.
We finally got in and parked. I was trying to hide how bad I had to use the ladies’ room because I, not so gently, encouraged everyone to drink most of their own whole bottles of water before we went in – there was no food or drink allowed past bag checks and the temperature was over 100 degrees fahrenheit, so we needed to stay hydrated! After parking, we walked into a big air conditioned building, got our bags checked, tickets scanned, and were stuck with hundreds of other gung-ho fans because the next set of doors hadn’t been opened yet. I hate to say it, but I had to work really hard not to fall to impatience and frustration in those moments.
Eventually, the doors opened and we flooded in. Third row of the lower section. Those were our seats for the evening. Our stifling, sweaty seats. Remember how I said over 100 degrees?
The event center was actually great. The seats were covered and we were in the shade! Until about an hour into the music when the sun dropped lower than the wonderful blessing of a roof we were under. Unleash the cooling agents! Every single person was conscious of the slip and slides forming down our backs.
On the second day, we got a whole new variety of weather: it rained. The stage was soaked, some people were leaving the vip area to stay dry under the roof over the upper and lower sections, while others were running to dance in the rain. The weather was, as it always is in Missouri, unpredictable, but we carried on. I was still just as excited and expectant as I was last year!
The first artist, Ben Fuller, had to wait another several minutes past starting time because there were technical issues with the wiring. The enemy also knew something powerful was happening that night; for as much effort the Light the Way Ministries team had put into preparing for this festival, that seemed to be the only explanation for this vexing glitch.
One of the speakers of the weekend had never been to a Christian music festival, which seemed wild to me that he got to speak at the very first music festival he had ever been to. Crazy! I would have been in a panic. But he made a beautiful point. He originally wondered if the festival was just going to be “clean” Christian entertainment. After being there, preparing for the whole week, and seeing the events unfold on the first night, he found that this was so much more than just entertainment.
I loved the saying that Light the Way used this year: “Taking church outside the walls.” And Crowder (big fan) said it several times, “We’ve just been singing church songs all day long.” Isn’t that awesome?
What if church was never barricaded by walls? I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to have a building to come to in order to have community and worship together, but it shouldn’t be, like I said, a barricade. If there is complacency and stagnancy within the church, that is a sure sign that the walls have created a blockade against the outreach of the church. The church is an ever growing body. A body of people striving after God. The church is not a building.
This weekend, I saw that more than ever.
This weekend, church had no walls and its voice bounded through the streets of north Springfield, Missouri out of huge speakers that blared the gospel truth and music that reinforced that same message.
More times than I can count, tears pushed over the edge of my lashes, yet I wasn’t sad. On the contrary, I was filled so fully with the utmost joy. A joy that can’t be found in this world alone.
One of the booths at the festival had free, neon-orange, sweat rags available to anyone who wanted one before they ran out (shout out to 88.3 The Wind – those were a wonderful idea!). There were so many orange heads trying so hard to be lively and have fun at what was becoming a sweat fest. People were quite innovative with these rags too – I saw neck ties, hair bows, head bands, wigs, masks, capes and more creative ways to use the rags to cool off, if even just one more degree.
As we neared six o’clock, I felt a bit light headed and weak. I’m usually the one, front row, jumping around like a fool – some might say a Jesus freak – at concerts, but I could barely stay standing at my seat with the sun beating down relentlessly. I was disheartened that the heat was seemingly keeping me captive from fully participating in the festivities, but again, that was the enemy doing everything he could to infiltrate any opening he saw, this time being my mind, in order to squelch true worship of the King.
I remained seated for many of the performances, but I noticed a new opportunity of worship as I sat right there in my seat fighting the dreaded July heat. I noticed the people. Although it is exhilarating getting to see my favorite bands perform on stage, there is nothing, in my opinion, that compares to the experience of being in the midst of hundreds, even thousands, of God’s people coming together to worship in obedience to His command (Exodus 20:3-5; Deuteronomy 6:13).
People of all kinds come to these events. I saw the sweetest elderly couple sitting under their umbrella trying to stay cool; a security guard, who by the way volunteers his time to be part of these events, who came to the elderly woman with an ice pack to rest on her neck. There were siblings holding hands down the stairs as their parents followed behind – dad hopping down each step while his wife rolled his wheelchair behind him. One man’s entire head and face were covered with tattoos. A mother and her daughter were wearing super cute matching outfits, a high waisted skirt with a crop top. There were large groups, some youth groups and other church groups, and there were individuals enjoying the show on their own.
Like I said, Lecrae was a headliner, so he closed on the second day. During his performance and my observations, I wished I could tell him that the crowd really was having a good time. If you don’t know, Lecrae is a hip hop singer, rapper, producer, all the things. And he came to perform for a bunch of his white brothers and sisters, in Springfield, Missouri. There was very little ability to dance, rap, or even bob to the music – except for the group of young boys between the ages of six and ten we’ll say who were breakdancing and flipping as if they belonged on stage. As a whole, physically, we struggled to keep up the hype, but anytime there was a chance to yell, you’d think the stadium was coming down. We might not have had rhythm, but we had volume!
In all the assortment of people, I never saw a nose high, or a snarling lip, or narrow critical eyes. But from all people, I saw hands lifted high swaying to the music. I saw one girl so full of joy, she didn’t care who was watching; she jumped and sang and danced around with her eyes closed, so focused on the Lord; I beamed when I saw her. There was a group of kids doing cartwheels and running and squealing with enthusiasm about the music – even this was worship. I was overwhelmed at the sight of each baptism that happened right there in the middle of the performances. Every person covered in the water made a public declaration that they have accepted Jesus Christ into their heart, acknowledged Him as their Lord and Savior, and redirected the trajectory of their life to end with Him. The stands celebrated with shouting and clapping, and strangers even went up to hug and congratulate the newly baptized Christians for the choice they made that evening.
One of my favorite parts of worship at an event like this one, is the voice that rises out of the body of Christ. One voice, echoing without reserve, bursting out of lungs and hearts so full of love you can feel it. I always try to take a moment to hush my own voice in order to hear the beauty of what we’re all shouting to heaven. It brings me to tears every time. And we sang to every type of music: hymns, contemporary, rock, rap, blue grass, country, the list goes on! No one pouted or complained about the music not being to their preference. No one stopped singing because that wasn’t how they wanted to worship. No, the hearts of the people were set on glorifying the Father, not on tending to the ever changing desires of people.
Through the worship and prayer, people shared their testimonies. Tears fell and hearts broke. But those stories had redemption chasing after them.
When the sun set, it was a goodbye not only to the day but also to all the people who saw the light of Jesus and was given a new life! The dead were reborn. The lost were found. The broken were redeemed.
I wanted to share with you this experience not just to say I got to go to this concert, and it was so cool. And no, I am not getting paid to advertise for anyone I mentioned in this post. My purpose is to encourage you to go experience Jesus where you can. If you get a chance to go to a Christian concert, go. If there’s a revival happening in your town, go. If you have an opportunity to go to a church camp as a camper or a volunteer, go! Wherever there are people coming together as the body of Christ, I hope you take the leap and go. It might be weird or uncomfortable at first, but can we be real for a second? This life isn’t about you.
We are called to be part of something so much bigger than our own day to day activities. We are called to chase after Christ and share Him with others. These large scale events are one of many tools we have to strengthen our ability to do what God created us to do. No matter the weather, how we feel physically or emotionally, if we’re good or bad at dancing, He will provide a way for us to see Him in those around us and show Him to those around us. He works in powerful and often unexpected ways, so we must be diligent in seeking Him.
I could have pouted about the heat and exhaustion I felt this weekend. Frankly, that is my tendency; you can ask my husband. But the Holy Spirit’s presence was undeniable this weekend. I would have had to really try to ignore Him. Unfortunately, I think we can be guilty of that on a daily basis. Sometimes, we would rather be sad or mad and get someone to just be on our side by talking about how bad things are.
It can be difficult to always feel Him working. I don’t always have Crowder blasting through speakers taller than I am, reminding me to stay focused on “Good God Almighty.” However, we can implement habits to keep our hearts rooted in Him and attend events to be lifted up by and with other believers. So if you are wondering if you should go to a Christian event – I say go!
