The Story Behind FaithFest

The Story Behind FaithFest

On the last weekend in August, thousands of people will descend upon Wilkesboro, gathering at the beautiful campus of Wilkes Community College for a full day of Christian music from some of the biggest names in the industry. It’s a day of celebration, of building community and of coming together all with one common denominator – a love of Jesus Christ and a desire to serve others.

FaithFest celebrates its sixth year in 2022, and in just these few short years the music festival has found great success thanks in part to the passion, dedication and hard work of its founder, Craig Church. It all started with just the spark of an idea.

“I was on my way home from a mission in Haiti in 2015, and the Lord placed on my heart the desire to do something in my hometown of Wilkesboro,” Church says. “I was born here, grew up here, and now our ministry, which started in 2007, is based here. After traveling locally, nationally and internationally preaching the Gospel, I felt compelled to do something here in Wilkesboro. The Lord was calling me home.”

It just happened that Merlefest was going on at the same time as Church began to think of a hometown ministry. The strong music culture in Wilkesboro seemed like a perfect match for Church’s vision of a hometown ministry, so Church began seeking out advice and information from friends and colleagues about how to go about planning a music festival.

“The foundation at Wilkes Community College said they were looking for a festival to take place in the fall, and this seemed like a perfect fit,” Church said. “After talking with some of the board members of Craig Church Ministries, we decided to go ahead and move forward.”

It wasn’t all easy going for the first FaithFest. Church had to do a lot of dealing to get the musicians he was hoping for to headline the event. “I began working with Randy Humphries at Jeff Roberts and Associates, the agency that represents contemporary Christian artists,” Church says. “At first he said no. He had dealt with so many people who wanted to have a festival but would only have a few hundred people attend and then wouldn’t be able to pay the artists.” Church didn’t give up, and his persistence paid off. “Finally, Randy looked at me and said, ‘You’re just crazy enough to do this, aren’t you?’”

That instinct to back FaithFest proved to be correct. Over the years, Christian music fans have congregated in the lawn of the Doc and Merle Watson stage to listen to bands and artists such as Casting Crowns, Matthew West and We the Kingdom. The Kids Corner, food from local restaurants and the FaithFest mall full of merchandise help add to the festival feel.

“The mission of FaithFest is simply this: to offer the hope of Jesus Christ to everyone we can. All of the other stuff is just a tool,” Church says.

FaithFest 2022

When: August 27, 2022. Gates open at 12:00, Bands at 3:00

Where: Wilkes Community College, Wilkesboro, NC

Tickets: $35, $30 each for groups of 12 or more, Kids 12 and under free

Artist Lineup:

Crowder

We Are Messengers

Anne Wilson

Andrew Ripp

Jordan St. Cyr

Jon Reddick

Jason Crabb