The Dunamis Army, a Christian organization based in Ottawa dedicated to spreading the Gospel in Canada, began the JON (Jesus of Nazareth) Festival just last year.
The first festival was born of prayer and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said Brad Fitchett, the youth and young adults director for Dunamis Army.
“In 2019 the executive director of Dunamis Army (Israel Gimba) felt the Lord call him to do a 70-day fast,” Fitchett said. “At the end of the fast, he received a prophetic vision, where the Lord spoke to him about this event.”
Fitchett emphasized that the first festival required approximately three years of planning and preparation.
Pia Ocenar, the youth coordinator of Annunciation of the Lord Parish in Ottawa, shared her experience attending last year’s event with a group of young parishioners.
“It's a music festival, but Christian,” she said. “It was amazing because I knew all the music was clean.”
Ocenar highlighted how the festival helped deepen the faith of her youth group.
“I saw my youth encounter the Holy Spirit through the singing. The performers really brought the young people into their music. It was powerful for the youth to experience Christ and the Holy Spirit in that way,” she said.
The day-long festival features Christian rap performances, worship music and Gospel readings, along with testimonies from young people who have experienced conversion in their lives.
Several Christian performers participated in the festival last year, including Grammy Award-winning artists Lecrae and Chandler Moore, lead singer of the band Maverick City. This September’s festival will feature a similarly impressive lineup. Limoblaze, 1K Phew and KS Bloom are just a few of those scheduled to take the stage.
Ocenar highlighted what she sees as the goal of the event.
“The whole point is to bring in churches to pray for the conversion of all people,” something she saw taking place in her youth group thanks to the festival. Ocenar mentioned one non-Catholic, in particular, who attended the festival with the parish group.
“(At the festival) the young person was able to open their hearts to Jesus Christ,” Ocenar said. “This person was then able to open their heart to come to youth group, which gave me the opportunity to help them encounter Jesus through the sacraments.”
Fitchett, who has been busy preparing for the festival, also emphasized the impact the event has had on attendees.
“We have seen people revived in their Christian walk,” he said. “We’ve also seen people, who are not following Jesus, hear the Gospel and over a thousand people respond to receive Christ in the 2023 festival.”
The festival will be held at the Ottawa Festival Field in Kemptville, south of the city.
Ocenar, who is preparing to take a group to the JON Festival again this year, encouraged other Catholic young people to attend.
“I would encourage more parishes to take their youth to this festival,” she said. “Not many Catholic parishes know about it, but it is a great gateway for youth to encounter Jesus for the first time.”
Fitchett echoed this idea, further emphasizing the festival's mission.
“We believe that God has brought this festival into existence to see the next generation revived, saved and following Jesus,” he said. “This is the entire focus and heart of the festival: seeing a generation come to Christ.”
On Sept. 20 and 21, Dunamis Army is mobilizing "thousands of Gen-Z and Millennials" to "demonstrate the most outrageous acts of kindness Ottawa has ever seen. This two-day campaign is dubbed "Outrageous Love."