Operators of twenty-five of the United State's largest Christian music festivals gathered together last month in Kansas City to see their individual organisations grow both spiritually and financially.

|PIC1|Three days later, the group had formed the Christian Festival Association (CFA), with a vision to "provide and facilitate an open communications environment that links Christian festival organisers together for encouragement, shared information and resources, and addressing common business circumstances and goals, all for the purpose of increasing the success and professionalism of participating festivals so that the Gospel of Jesus Christ may be advanced and glory brought to Jesus Christ, our Lord."

Each year, over 22 million fans of Christian music attend live events in venues ranging from small church gatherings to huge arena-based shows. According to Bob Thompson of Atlanta Fest, the group's newly-elected president: "Each summer, well over a million of those fans attend multi-day events, known as Christian music festivals, from coast to coast.

"The Christian music festivals put on by CFA members are attended by over 1.2 million of those fans. Collectively, these festivals send out over 2.5 million direct mail pieces, send E-mail blasts to over 4 million potential attendees and hang posters in nearly a million churches, schools and retail locations," Thompson said.

"Collectively, the CFA member websites attract over 150 million annual hits. These marketing efforts are augmented by significant electronic media coverage on Christian radio and TV stations nationwide."

Association Vice President Harry Thomas of Creation Festivals and Friendship Fest added: "I was delighted by the open and honest dialogue that took place at our meeting. We are bound together by a common goal - to change lives for the kingdom of Jesus Christ - and we were united by His call. Our member festivals have been operating independently for many years and will continue to do so. But we think that we can multiply our Kingdom impact by working together."

At the meeting, held 14 to 16 September at the offices of Premier Studios in Kansas City, the CFA members formalised a statement of mission and vision for the organisation, and formally adopted a constitution and set of bylaws. "I was surprised and delighted by the progress we made as a group," said Donna Russo (Kingdom Bound), the group's newly-elected Secretary. "Each day, we asked for God's hand to guide our proceedings and we were not disappointed."

Going forward, the group plans to meet face-to face twice each year, once in autumn, and once in spring in conjunction with the annual Gospel Music Association convention in Nashville.

Committees will meet monthly via teleconference, and will report their findings and recommendations to the membership at the meeting and through regular group teleconferences.

"It's a beginning," said Thompson, "but it's an exciting new day. We are all looking forward to being better together than we have been working separately. We all know that we have been given an incredible opportunity to make a positive impact on young lives in America. But we also know that to whom much has been given, much is expected."

The 2007 season of Christian music festivals begins on 27 April in Greenville, Illinois. While most events take place during the summer months, CFA member festivals take place in every region of the United States from April to September.