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Parachute '08
The sun beats from a cloud-free sky, turning tents into oversized microwaves and grilling 30,000 young punters. Welcome to Parachute08, where the music is loud but the tone is Godly.
Being embedded in a youth group seemed the best way to capture the Parachute story. My sister-in law Anna, who’s part of St Aidan’s in Lower Hutt, was taking teenagers Alex, Kate, Nicole and Steph to the music festival, held from 25-28 January at the Mystery Creek showgrounds near Hamilton.
And we were to be part of a wider Presbyterian posse; St John’s in the City had planned a tent village in combination with two other Wellington churches, Island Bay and Wadestown, along with the PYM South Island coordinators.
After the long drive, split by overnighting on the way, Friday morning saw our people-mover pulling into Mystery Creek. A little sweet-talking got us driving on site and unloading an ample amount of gear at the prearranged Presbyterian spot. Soon the others arrived and tent construction commenced, hampered somewhat by 30-degree heat and rock-like ground. Farewell, six tent pegs.
Parachute is about music: 170 bands playing on nine stages over three days. But it’s also about Christianity and the creation of a safe, youth-oriented environment. No drugs, alcohol or mixed unmarried tenting are allowed. Each morning at 9.30am the “morning meeting” includes a large helping of worship, along with an international Christian speaker and an invitation to commit.
Founder Mark de Jong told a press conference during the festival that more than 2000 people had responded to the altar call on Saturday morning, made by veteran US evangelist Tony Campolo. He had exhorted the gathering to match faith with personal action, particularly in terms of serving those in need: “poverty is the big thing, people.” Every individual must respond to the Gospel call, he told the crowd.
The message on Sunday was delivered by another US speaker, Reggie Dabbs, whose tale of birth to a prostitute and personal tragedy was laced with gentle humour. His theme was that everyone, no matter what their background, is worthy in God’s eyes. His altar call was followed by the suggestion that people who had brought non-Christian friends should turn to them and encourage them to respond.
The Rev Sharon Ensor, minister of Wadestown Presbyterian, says it’s important to give teenagers an opportunity to ask questions after these type of messages. She had eight people in her Parachute party and ran a debriefing session after each morning meeting.
“They have a really good critique. They’re not just sponges.”
This was the third consecutive year that Sharon has attended Parachute, and she says part of its value is giving kids a sense that they’re part of something much bigger than just their church community.
“They get exposed to ideas they might not see at our church, which makes them think.”
Paul Ramsay took his three children to Parachute as part of the St John’s group, which totalled 40 people. He’s been twice and says he’s loved each time; both the music and the experience of coming as a group. “It’s been neat this year to have number of parishes together.”
Like Wadestown, St John’s runs small groups after the morning meetings to give the teenagers a chance to reflect on what they have heard, including what they might have felt uncomfortable about.
“We create a safe environment to talk about this. What happens if you go up [to an altar call] and nothing’s changed?
“We need to cater for the ones who want to make that kind of commitment but also for the ones who need to be encouraged on their journey.”
Teenagers are incisive and astute thinkers, he says. “Never underrate their ability to perceive the message.”
It was interesting to chat to my younger neighbours about their reactions to the messages.
Steph, who was part of the St Aidan’s group, says she enjoyed Reggie Dabs because he got the audience involved. But she says people need the chance to make a considered decision about faith. “You want do it when you want to do it. You shouldn’t be forced to do it.”
Fellow camper Nicole was impressed by the friendly atmosphere and although she doesn’t come from a church background, says she felt comfortable being at Parachute. She was interested in what the different artists had to say onstage, but also says she could
see how people might feel pressured to make some kind of Christian commitment.
St John’s youth worker Ryhan Prasad was at his fourth Parachute. He says young people can take away a lot of positive things from an event that’s outside the Presbyterian tradition. But it’s important to create forums for open discussion, he says.
“Parachute provides a lot of questions. It’s really good to have leaders there to answer those questions.”
He wonders about the long term effect of responding to an altar call on those who aren’t hooked into a community, and says St John’s is very focused on creating a strong network among its youth.
Ryhan says he tells his youth group members to think about using the worship to look for a connection with God that’s different from what they might normally experience at a more formal service. “Sometimes it isn’t just about intellectual stuff.”
One of the key mainstage acts on Sunday night was Hillsong United, from the eponymous Sydney church. Their performance-oriented slickness made an interesting counterpoint to the lead singer’s initial declaration that “it’s all about you, Lord; it’s not about us”. They were followed by gospel act Israel & New Breed, who found more favour with my interviewees.
When asked what has stood out about their Parachute experience, teenagers have a variety of responses, not all focused on the music and the bands.
Charlie of St John’s says he’s been struck by the huge number of people at the event – which probably peaked close to last year’s 27,500. Between 10,000 and 12,000 camped on site, making for long toilet queues and infrequent showers.
Charlie says he thought headliners Switchfoot were “pretty average”, sounding “like listening to a CD” rather than being a captivating live performance.
Others concurred: Tom says Switchfoot were “alright” but not as good as their hype; he thought last year’s festival was better. Tom was also struck by the scale of corporate sponsorship at the event – the presence of Vodafone, TV channel C4 and radio station The Edge was hard to miss.
Wellington rappers Rapture Ruckus were a highlight, Tom says, and the St Aidan’s girls agree. Kate says she doesn’t usually like rap because of its focus on “pimps and girls,” but she really enjoyed Rapture Ruckus. Nicole says they were one of the stand-out acts. “Rapture Ruckus really got the crowd going.” She also liked my personal favourites US rock act Red.
Fellow camper Alex says she liked Australian singer songwriter Katy Ray, who played on one of the secondary stages. Alex will also remember the heat: temperatures topped 30 degrees every day, making for an at-times overwhelmingly too-hot experience. The open mainstage got the full force of the sun, although other indoor venues offered more respite.
The overwhelmingly teenage crowd featured an intriguing array of styles, ranging from Christian slogan t-shirts (“G-sus wears jeans”) to more alternative emo looks, complete with black leather and piercings. Kate says it was interesting to see people who “normally you would be scared of”, if you saw them in the street, as part of a friendly, diverse crowd. “It was a really good atmosphere,
really friendly.”
Matt, from the St John’s group, says he was struck by the environment; “that you could feel safe walking around at 2 o’clock in the morning without getting assaulted”. However, he was getting sick of the Parachute “mad men” waking campers up at 7am by driving round with loudspeakers.
Sleep was somewhat scarce at Parachute. The main stages resounded till midnight, when groups of teenagers started to wander around talking loudly and singing. This continued for some hours and seemed to start up again at 5am.
Nicole says she’ll always remember waking up at 3 o’clock in the morning to hear a group of guys singing “I don’t want to miss a thing”.
But while adults looked bleary eyed, teenagers seemed to tap into hidden stores of energy, with plenty of action in the mosh pit.
During Australian indie rock band Jonezzetta on Saturday night, Nicole was only four people back from the front of the mainstage, which she described as a fun if intense experience; too intense for Alex, who had to seek less crowded ground. Later there was plenty of pushing going on during headliners Switchfoot, with some of the younger teenagers feeling overwhelmed by the packed-in, jumping crowd.
Anna says the vibe was different from last year, with the number of teenagers obviously there for Switchfoot making the crowd more diverse.
She says she enjoyed her second Parachute experience: “it’s awesome to see that Christianity is relevant to so many people. That it’s normal and it’s actually cool.”
Hawkes Bay minister Howard Carter took his family to the event, and says he enjoyed seeing the huge amounts of young people at a Christian event. He’d like to see the institutional Church learning from the festival’s success in targeting secular youth.
“Parachute says we must invest in young people on the other side of the cultural barrier.”
This year’s festival thankfully lacked the Sunday-night deluge of 2007, which saw many campers evacuated to the mainstage area. Instead, we had four days of baking sun, producing a dust that infiltrated every inch of your tent and coated feet in a disturbing fake tan. Packing up, we looked forward to a sterilising shower and the silence of a real room with walls, roof and no stereo. Well, the adults did. But I’d guess from the singing sessions on the way home that Parachute will continue to draw its crowd, young and old, with equal enthusiasm.
Media coverage of the event focused either on the oddity of an alcohol-free festival or the appeal to parents of a safe environment for their kids. Not on the Christian content or message; a fact of perpetual irritation to its organisers, I suspect.
It might not be a font of theological depth, but for those four days Mystery Creek becomes a place where Christianity is the norm and teenagers who’ve never been exposed to the Gospel can’t avoid it. For those still preaching the secularisation of our society, it’s a must-see event.
Amanda Wells