Lifted Up Where People Actually Are
Jesus said, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.” (John 12:32). He was speaking of the cross. He was also revealing a pattern: the Son of God is not allergic to public. The Gospel was never meant to be a private hobby for people who already know the songs.
That is why we take worship into the park. Jesus Festival exists so Hamilton and Niagara can encounter Jesus in the open — Gage Park, the Falls, grass underfoot, kids running, strangers stopping because the sound of worship does not stay inside a building they have never been invited into.
Church Buildings Matter. They Are Not the Whole Field.
I love the local church. We need pulpits, pastors, and Sunday faithfulness. We also need the courage to go where people already gather. Parks are honest. Nobody pretends they wandered in by accident. You can hear the Gospel without having to decode a lobby. You can cry, pray, or keep walking. Dignity stays intact. Jesus still draws.
Public worship is not a stunt. It is obedience with a sound system. It is families, new believers, the curious, and the hurting standing on the same grass. It is the Body of Christ being visible in a culture that assumed we only exist online or behind stained glass.
What Happens When We Lift Him Up Outside
- The city gets a witness it can see. Worship in public is a declaration: Jesus is Lord here, not only in our group chat.
- The barrier to entry drops. You do not need the right clothes, the right language, or a friend who already goes.
- The church remembers its assignment. We are not a club protecting a vibe. We are a people sent.
- Prayer gets specific. When you worship in a park, you start interceding for the streets you can actually see.
Come Stand With Us
If you are near Hamilton or Niagara, check the next gathering at jesusfestival.ca. Bring a friend who would never walk into a sanctuary on a Sunday. Pack water. Pray before you come. Stay after to talk to someone you do not know.
If you cannot be there in person, you can still walk with us in the Inner Circle or help fuel the gatherings as a freewill offering — never pressure, always worship. We lift Jesus up. He does the drawing.
John 12:32 is not a branding line. It is the reason the park hears the Name.