More than 20,000 people were in London over the weekend for the third annual Pentecost Festival celebrating the birth of the church 2,000 years ago.

Historic venues like the Methodist Central Hall and London landmarks including Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square and the Hammersmith Apollo played host to an array of events reflecting the diversity of the church.

“People have again been amazed at the diversity of Pentecost Festival,” said Andy Frost, director of Share Jesus International, the ministry behind the festival.

“We had everything from weightlifting to opera to fine art to movie premiers to hip-hop to justice marches to flower arranging to comedy.

“I am thrilled with how the festival has gone and in particular how we have managed to communicate the Good News of Jesus with such a range of events in the heart of our capital.”

Many events this year were sold out or packed to capacity, including a historic night of worship and teaching at the Hammersmith Apollo with Nicky Gumbel and Tim Hughes of Holy Trinity Brompton, Reuben Morgan and Pete Wilson of Hillsong, and Pastor Agu Irukwu of Jesus House. The event was joined by 5,000 Christians.

As part of the festival, hundreds of young people took to the streets of the capital on Saturday to call on the Government to end injustice in the world today.

Generate Justice, supported by Christian Aid, Tearfund and Open Doors, included a petition outside Downing Street and a celebration of freedom in Trafalgar Square.

Methodist Central Hall was packed when American Christian activist and author Shane Claiborne urged Christians not to shy away from suffering but to instead be part of the ‘irresistible revolution’ and be with others in their need.

On Saturday, the festival was rounded off by a night of prayer and healing led by Bill Johnson, senior pastor of Bethel Church in California, who has led prayer nights that have helped heal people of their medical ailments and emotional problems. He inspired Christians to believe that God did not only call ‘experts’, but invited everyone to the table, and that miracles were really possible for them in their own lives.

Joy Da Costa, Pentecost Festival team leader, shared, “The most exciting part of the festival was seeing people healed and others come to faith. Hearing some of these stories makes all the hard work worthwhile!”