I'm writing about Love Phnom Penh Festival because there is more to the story than just the event that happened on December 7 & 8, 2019. Events come and go, but many ask if they have a lasting effect.
I'm usually skeptical about big events for the sake of having an event myself.
However, writing a year later about Love Phnom Penh Festival I want to highlight what happens when events like this are done well, with the right purpose and a well developed approach.
Most people would focus their celebration around the 1,708 people who made decisions for Christ over those two nights, or over the 23,700 people in attendance. After spending a year being part of the team that helped coordinate the event that is definitely worth celebrating!!! Praise God and to Him be all the Glory!
But, that's not why I'm celebrating a year later and not why I'm writing about it. You see what I want to celebrate and what I want us (who are often tempted to make shortcuts when planning events) to remember is what was done for this event to not only make it a success on those nights, but to have a long-term, lasting effect in the city and nation. Also, to challenge skeptics to look a little deeper before you cast doubt on getting involved in an event like LPPF. Now, more than ever, as we are developing new models for reaching people in an online world with the changes brought on by the pandemic, we need to think through not only the online or in-person event, but what we'll do to have lasting impact? Here's some behind-the-scenes thing you didn't hear about that might help you think through what you do.
What most people will never hear about:
- 95.95% of those who made decisions for Christ received follow-up through the relationships, people and teams who were developed over the course of a full year before the Festival. That's right, for months following the Festival someone took the time to make sure as many as humanly possible were followed up. We actually kept records and held sacred the decisions people made and the trust they put in Christ and His Church. Churches who were deeply involved in the Festival not only learned the importance of following up, but saw the "how to" of planning well to follow-up.
- 2,750 believers were equipped and trained in the year leading up to the Festival in evangelism and discipleship. Meaning, people actually came to know Christ before and are still coming to know Christ now because believers were equipped. We are still receiving reports of people using the evangelism tools they learned through LPPF to win people to Christ. New people and churches are continuing to be trained in evangelism and discipleship by those trained in the lead up to the Festival.
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- The Gospel was declared without partiality to any one person or denomination. Today, no one is claiming the credit or fame for what happened. It was something God orchestrated and His Church together facilitated.
As I reflect back over the last 2 years these are the things I celebrate, the things I've seen and the lessons I've learned through being involved in an event, or should I say partnership, of this type. Of course there were huge challenges and I'm sure there were some negatives that people saw in the course of the event. However, given the long-lasting impacts I've seen I would have to challenge the nay-sayers and pessimists to take a deeper look. Maybe consider getting a little more involved next time! Also, I say a big thank you to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for taking the time and effort to partner with the local church to equip churches to do these types of partnerships so well!
Now enough talking! Take a look at the fun video below put together by the Afters (amazing people who love God) to see some fun highlights of Love Phnom Penh Festival.
