What the People say

Here are just a few of the emails, tweets and Facebook comments we’ve received from those that attended the BigChurchDayOut  !!

2011

Had an awesome time on Saturday at Wiston House Gods presence was truly with us, cant wait to do it all again.

Hey i was with St John Ambulance! the weekend was great and the atmosphere was amazing!!

brilliant! thanks to all and more besides! highlights Toby Mac & Mr Graham K psalm surfing !

Went for my first time this year, i only came to faith just before christmas after a couple of tough years. this was a amazing day out and i will defiantly be going again next year. great music and i had the chance to talk to loads of other christians. thank you to all who organised it. see you next year.

Had a fantastic time volunteering and camping at the BCDO! Worked alongside some amazing people (Ruth,Matt,Brad,Joe,Abby & Ben) and even had the chance to meet some of the artists. Will certainly be doing it again next year. Met so many first time visitors including a group of Jamaican elderly women from Brixton who got their boogie on to the NewsBoys!

A weekend of camping, no sleep, unhealthy living but great worship, awesome music, rhythms that shook off the British reserve and even a crowd-pleasing reunion (or two)

Definitely going to Camp next year – 1 day is not enough.

It was my first Christian festival – WOW what a one to start with – Chris and Matt were amazing – I am hoping to get baptised in the next few months and the people I met at BCDO enforces my feelings

We knew it was going to be brilliant, so we invited our friends from South Africa to come and experience the whole weekend. And guess what – it was the BEST YET! Amazing atmosphere all weekend, despite the wind – and we felt totally privileged to be able to see THE BEST bands. Getting David Crowder Band and TobyMac and newsboys on the same stage in sleepy Sussex was brilliant – especially with this being DC*B’s last opportunity to play in the UK – they were EPIC. Israel and Matt Redman did great worship sets too – the end of Sunday evening was very special. And Louise Fellingham and Tom+Olly (amongst others) kept the extremely high quality going on the other stages. What a joyful weekend. Thank you so much.

Duncan Phillips - Want to thank everyone involved with The Big Church Day Out and all the fans that attended. You made newsboys feel incredibly welcome and loved!

Went for the first time this year and it was just purely amazing. great acts on the main stage like DCB, Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman. The rest of it like the UCB stage/tent, the Fete, the tea tent…such a brilliant weekend Can’t wait to go back next year

Psalm Drummers - What a brilliant weekend at The Big Church Day Out! Thank you to all the drummers that joined the street drumming team, and for everyone that stopped by to have so much fun! An amazing weekend … so worth it!

Went for the first time this Saturday, and WHAT A DAY: SO MUCH wonderfully fun-packed and inspirational worship activity going on… TOO MUCH going on! I could have remained at the main stage… but, then the UCB stage… AND the Tea Tent… AND the Marketplace!! How awesome it was meeting TobyMac! I CAN REMEMBER DISTINCTLY HIS HANDSHAKE!

Went Sunday this year & Monday last year. What a fantastic day out for all the family! Enjoyed every minute Had been looking forward to it for such a long time and it was worth every moment! The UCB tent & stage were also great  Even the police had time to enjoy the music So nice to see that most people cleared up their rubbish after themselves – I have been to festivals in the past that have been left strewn with rubbish – this is the cleanest one I have been to. Lots of re-cycling facilities too. What a brilliant witness.

Had a great day yesterday!!!!! Thanks to the big church day out, I have made a decision to follow both of the two most famous men in heaven!!!!!

Had a great time..all the acts are great performers for His Glory! Kinda lost my voice a bit a day after but it is worth of giving all out my voice Praising & Worshiping Him alone… Can’t wait for next year’s event… Amazing atmosphere!… To God be the Glory!!!

First time I’ve ever been to BCDO and I can honestly say I loved every minute! And so did my 19 month old son who was bopping away to LZ7 and Newsboys! Thank you for a great weekend.

We had an amazing weekend camping at BCDO! All volunteers, staff and the Discovery team looked after us so well and we loved our rent a tent! Thanks so much for the excellent organisation, hospitality and the hard work put in. Sad to leave and we can’t wait to go again next year!!

heya i was performing in the tea tent with Portsmouth Citadel Band and i had an amazing time

Back from my first BCDO and had a great time:-) I was volunteering on Saturday in the food tent with Discovery camps – great to meet so many other volunteers:-) I enjoyed listening to all the bands on Sunday, but now look like a tomato thanks to the crazy wind!!!

What an awesome weekend!!!!! Back on track with God every time God spoke to me, it was as a wake up. Whatever words I needed to hear, He made sure I was listening by blowing the wind warmly on my face :’) God is too good!!!

First time at BCDO and first time camping and wow! had a great time and will go again. Loved the diversity and variety for all cultures and age groups to enjoy and have a great time of worship together and meeting new folk !! Great .

Awesome day Sunday, Thankyou so much. My only complaint would be that it only happens just once per year! I know it’s massive and prob takes that long to organise-but it would be great if it was 2ce-or more, we would all come to everyone. I’m sure everyone will agree. God Bless. )))

Had a brilliant time, thank you again, for the 3rd time, it gets better every year and is so inspiring, got loads to share with my church now….Stop the Traffic speaks to me every time, think its time I did something.

The idea of the Big Church day out is truly God inspired. Our second year attending but our first year at wiston house. Truly is making church accessible to everybody. Thanks also for for the accessible path to viewing platform and accessible path to tent. Given the surrounding i don’t think we could have hoped for it to be any more accessible. Well done Guys another fantastic day

next year- hook or by crook we’ll come even if we get an envelope marked Big Church Day Out in capitals and shove money in there !

Few hoodies, trousers, wellies AND That camping smell!-it’s beautiful to be in this field together-that’s how we do it in the chocolate church-Raise your hand if you want a hug and we’ll have a time of hugging-I am in THE BEST place on the entire earth right now!-Being able to scream in a field with 12,000 other people!- The Big Church Day Out 2011 #BRILLIANTWEEKEND!

And the sight of that amazing cross lit up on the hillside overlooking the site reminding us all of the gift of salvation from God

Was my first festival and was completely blown away (and I dont mean the wind), Cant wait for next year, so many friendly people – Thank you so much.

went to BCDO on Saturday, it was awesome! Really looking forward to next year’s, hope to get more people from our church to go too. Well done to everyone who organised and volunteered. God bless x

just got back home after a 4 hour drive from camping, tired from volunteering, headache, slight sore throat n body ache from all the running….but sooo totally worth it!! def count me in next year…woop woop!!

What a massive weekend ,thank you to all from the residents of wiston house ,tim jupp, the bands ,,wow,, all the volunteers, and of course the one and only ,,JESUS CHRIST,,it was our first time, but will b a reg date in our diary. once again thank you……

Congratulations on another wonderful event! Couldn’t believe that there was no queue coming in and leaving the venue. A brilliant job well done – and all the glory to the Lord. Thank you to everyone involved.

90.1 Hope FM - Thank you to The Big Church Day Out for welcoming us to Wiston House, thank you to all the interviewees from the “big” to the “small” – the artists to the guests we interviewed and talked to. Two great days!

Sore throat, tired, hearing slightly gone… totally worth it! The Big Church Day Out was amazing! Now to see how long this wristband stays on…

Duncan Phillips - Thanks to everone at The Big Church Day Out newsboys (official) just had the best time. Sad to leave this amazing venue! Everyone involved has treated us like KINGS!

Had an absolutely amazing time this Saturday! Another fantastic example of the Church coming together.

American reporting in saying this was probably one of the coolest things I’ve done all year! And you have to be pretty good to compete with snowboarding in the Alps. Great job to the bands and the people who put it on! I would totally come back if I could!

Thank you very much for an amazing time. I thank the Lord that more churches are engaging in prayer & as we His royal priesthood obey this mandate, we will see this nation transform & be revive. The church will rise up not because of great programs but because the Holy Spirit will bring forth fire of revival throughout this nation. This for God’s glory & renown. Praise the Lord!!!

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome…Can’t wait for next year. Well done to the organisers. We were there yesterday and albeit cold…absolutely had a good time. All the glory belongs to God alone !

I actually had a great time… this was my first time, and it was AMAZING! I will try my best to be back next year!!! ♥

Had the best day of my life! A awesome day. Thanks you all so much.

Can’t wait for next year doing whole weekend one day is not enough still on a high with God:-))))

It was awesome!!!! I love it…….. I would have regretted if i had missed it!!!!!

Great to be a part of the BIG CHURCH and know our BIG GOD

Had such a awesome time at The Big Church Day Out what a Blessing and just amazing, loved it and loved having a great time with great friends. Always good to share great moments in life with great friends. What a Blessing, thank you Lord for such a amazing day. Over Blessed to be a Blessing.

Thank you for another fantastic day yesterday, this was our third time at Big Church Day out and we brought 21 others from our our Church of all ages , who had a fantastic time and were able to met with and soak up the spirit of God in so many different ways.  Thank you for all you are doing to make the day run so smoothly and offering such a wide variety of activities in such a special place, long may it continue.

Thanks for a brilliant weekend out! Not only was the programme great (we definitely needed two days) but the organisation was terrific. Thanks for all your hard work.

I came to your event on Saturday with three others from my church to “give it a try and see if it’s any good”, with a view to bringing a larger group next year.  I just wanted to say thank you because we had an amazing time and God certainly met with us. Of course, all the praise and honour goes to God, but I believe thanks also goes to you too for your obedience to Him, by which others are blessed by the thousands.  The cross on the hill at the end was a beautiful touch too =)

We have been to the BCDO for the past three years and camped for the last two. We bring our 3 children too and we all absolutely love the whole weekend.

I attended the Big Church Day Out for the first time with my family (5 of us). I wanted to let you know that we had a wonderful weekend and it was well worth driving 7 hours from Glasgow to get there.  God willing, I will get a bus organised next year and encourage much more people to come for the weekend.

I just wanted to say what an inspiration it was to take part in Big Church Day Out 2011 and to spend time with so many amazing people with such a fantastic soundtrack to the weekend. A Big Thank You to Dan, Jenny and the team of volunteers from Christians Against Poverty who gave up their time to serve our coffee to benefit the event. A great job done for a truely worthy cause. Thank you Tim, and the BCDO team. Sandy from Costa Foundation.

An article written by a visitor to BCDO in 2011: http://www.the-redeemer.org.uk/bcdo_2011.html

2010

“Can’t thank you enough…just the time of my life really – met with the Lord and was pretty much worshipping and giving thanks throughout the day – took a couple of families with us whose faith has drifted and we finished the day united, happy and focused on trying to lead the life Jesus has for us.”

“Heard about this at this years Spring Harvest, I so wanted to go – I dragged my mum who really didn’t want to go and we went on Saturday and she really enjoyed it, it was one amazing day”

“Went on Sunday and because we liked it that much went again on Monday.”

“What another brilliant Big Church Day Out on Sunday. Well done to everyone involved in organising it. The layout and car parking was so much better than last year. Big pats on backs. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the Kings Chamber Orchestra – would definitely recommend them! Looking forward to next year already!”

“Israel Houghton stole the show and I got my T shirt signed by him!…..God is amazing….we were all united together in harmony with each other it truly was a spiritual day, one that will remain in my mind for years to come.”

“WOW!! was soooo awesome!! We drove up from Cardiff on Saturday and loved it so much spontaneously decided to go on Monday too All the acts were amazing, but Hillsong was definitely the highlight for me”

“What an AMAZING DAY!!! if it wasn’t rocking out to Brenton Brown, Tim Hughes, and Israel Houghton, getting the Switchfoot band member’s autographs and shaking their hands, or worshiping God with Hillsong United, then it was certainly the many, many people who became Christians at the Big Church Day Out 2010 today!!!”

“Q: What do: cream teas; 100 new Christians; noisy campers; Graham Kendrick; high decibel music, and; chicken and chips have in common? A: My weekend, at the BigChurchDayOut”

“Had a great day at Wiston. Absolutely no queuing by car to get in or out. Well done! Already looking forward to next year….”

“What an awesome day yesterday!!! Cause of our son’s disabilities we have no longer found going to Bible Weeks a viable option, but here everybody could be involved, just be ourselves and enjoy worshipping without standing in the wrong place or fear of the kids making too much noise. Worship times were truly powerful.”

“We went on Sunday and we had just as fab a time this year as we did last year such an amazing experience with so many Christians. The roads were much better as was the food, thank you. The tent with so many organisations promoting their work was great too. Looking forward to next years!!”

“Thank you for organising a brilliant event at Wiston House this year. Everything was fantastic – the bands (particularly TobyMac!), the road system, the facilities, the food – even the weather was pretty decent! You obviously learnt from last year (which itself was an amazing day) … I cannot believe such a major event has found its place in little ol’ Sussex – we are very, very privileged to have this almost on our doorstep.”

“Thanks for all your dedication in booking people and for putting on such a great church bonding and revival empowering churches in West Sussex and further afield. It’s great to also hear of so many being saved and realising that the church is alive and relevant today as it was many years ago.”

“I would like to say as a Volunteer on Monday to me meant a lot as I felt God in me and that he was also moving among the young people around the B – stage and the surrounding area, I would love be able to come back next year.”

“Took some friends from our church, our first time ever at this event; and wow, what a super day we had. Before we went, we prayed for the rain to go off, and that the Lord would put an invisible shield around the whole venue; and as soon as the bands started, and the praise went up, the rain just went off. The whole day was totally amazing; we are looking forward to next year; and a great time with other brothers and sisters in Christ, worshipping a fantastic wonderful amazing God.”

“We came to the Big Day Church Out. I felt compelled to get in touch because it was a fantastic day. The artists were awesome, but I really wanted to say thank you for the amazing organisation of the whole event. You had thought of everything from the kids, to food outlets, the market place. But also the little things like the steps over the wall in the second car park – they were fab. The temporary traffic lights to get out at nighttime – brilliant. I am an event organiser and I know how hard it is to think of everything and get it right – well you got it right and much more as well. Cannot wait until next year – certainly will be recommending it to everyone.”

“It was brilliant. Very well organised and no mistakes from where we were. Thanks for a great day and all the hard work was appreciated. If you want to know if it was all worth it my niece became a Christian when Hillsong United were Leading Worship. Cannot wait for next year.”

“We went to BigChurchDayOut yesterday. It was brilliant and so well organised. No queuing to get in or out or for the toilets and food. You did a marvellous job. Well Done!”

“This year you really cracked it, we drove straight in at 10:30 am and drove straight out at 10.30pm in between time we met with our God, through the worship, the prayers and the acting, what a fantastic day. Oh yes and we had plenty of food to choose from. Thank you to you and your team for all their planning and hard work, we are already looking forward to next year.”

“What a fantastic day! Brought my teenager and my 2 smaller kids and we ALL had a blast. Was amazing to see so many generations joining together and enjoying music and fun together. (My ears are still ringing). I know God was smiling on all His great family. Thanks for making it happen!”

“Please pass on my thanks to the owners of Wiston House for making the site available. It is a beautiful place and has a really lovely atmosphere.”

“Just wanted to say a huge thank you for Monday it was an excellent day and worth every penny. We all enjoyed the day; son aged 10 and daughters aged 16 and 18. Highlights were TobyMac, Hillsong United and Tim Hughes with special mention to LZ7 – absolutely awesome day.”

“We attended the event on 29th May – I have to say without reserve it was fantastic!  We met up with family from other parts of the country ranging in age from young babies through every age group up to the older members in their 50′s and we had the most wonderful day – there was something for everyone and we enjoyed every aspect from playing footy on the field, the various acts, the tea tent, even the loos were great!  Thank you so much for putting this event on – we’re already planning to be there next year.”

“A big thank you for organising the Big Church Day out! I went to Wiston House on Bank Holiday Monday and had a slice of heaven!!!!!!! – a rather big one actually.”

“Thank you and your wonderful team. 12 of us from our church went along from Fishbourne to Wiston House in West Sussex and there was something for each one of us to experience. It was an absolute joy to see so many young people clearly demonstrating their belief on our Lord Jesus Christ and a great encouragement for so many Christians meeting together, coupled with people being challenged about their faith in such an excellent environment.”

”Also I wanted you to know that on Sunday night, many people committed their lives to Christ during the Hillsong United session, including two of our children. The BigChurchDayOut really does make a difference.”