Share Jesus International Announces Plans for Pentecost Festival

Share Jesus International has announced plans for Pentecost Festival, a huge Christian event which will take place throughout major focal areas of London in 2008.

Over recent months, festival plans were discussed amongst more than 100 Christian leaders representing a full range of denominations, new church streams and organisations, culminating in four receptions which were held on HMS President on the River Thames at the end of January.

Rob Frost of SJI explains: "The call to launch this new project came after I felt God was saying 'Create something that I would like to come to!' That's what's driving this, a call to create a completely new style of event quite unlike anything on the Christian scene today ... and to do something which will put Pentecost back into the national calendar!

"The more we have explored this idea of an event given over completely to God, the more radical it has become! We felt that Jesus would want to be at the heart of things, where the politicians, artists and opinion formers of our age are to be found. That's why we're taking it to the heart of London!"

Pentecost Festival is intended to be multi-cultural, representing the richness and diversity of Christian expression across the world.

The team behind Easter People will be working on the festival, with hopes that different ethnic groups will bring their distinctive cultural contributions to the table.

"We are appealing to different Christian organisations and church leaders to lay down any sense of competition, and instead to work collaboratively in putting the Pentecost Festival together in the belief that God would bless what expresses Christian unity in action," explains Frost. "Already, about 80 groups have made some kind of commitment towards working on Pentecost Festival."

Other key elements of the Festival will include its 'all age reach', bringing the different generations together to sample the best of Christian ministry, creativity and communication which is on offer.

Share Jesus is working in partnership with two major initiatives in the capital - Soul in the City London and the Global Day of Prayer - the Festival will prominently feature community action and justice and prayer initiatives over the Pentecost 2008 weekend.

Andy Frost, the youth director of Share Jesus International said: "Above all we felt that anything which Jesus came to would be great fun! There would be art, and music and dance and food and a kind of creativity and community that the world would take notice of. That's why we'll be investing so much time and energy in making it an unmissable event in the Christian calendar!"

The Pentecost Festival will be held in Central London from 9-11 May, 2008. Further details will be available at Rob and Andy Frost's seminar, repeated every afternoon in the Renaissance room (in the Spanish Suite), over the coming months.

Further information is also available at www.pentecostfestival.com.