Cliff Festival 2026

It can be lonely and exhausting when you feel like you, or your church or circuit is struggling with a big question: perhaps its: what should we do to encourage people to become members, or what should we do to use our building best for mission. If you’re asking questions like these – or other ones – know that you’re not alone - Methodists across the country are grappling with them too. In fact, these are both sessions that ticket-buyers to Cliff Festival this year (22-26 May) have asked for specialist one-to-one sessions on. In a season where many churches are asking “what should we do?”, Cliff Festival’s programme this year is designed especially to help – to energise and refresh you through worship, learning, and sharing.

The programme this year features sessions on worship and how to approach it with creativity, on justice seeking and how to sustain momentum and enable change, on church growth and sharing stories from across the Connexion about how it's happening, and much more. The theme - Our Story Our Song - in line with the presidential theme, lends itself to sessions on testimony, too - helping us to ask how we shape and share our stories of God at work in our lives.

The Young Adult venue at Cliff Festival is run by a small team of Methodist young adults who are all passionate about providing a space where 18-30 year olds can grow together in community over the weekend of the festival. The young adults find a welcoming and friendly space where they can meet and chat with others, but also engage with Bible study and workshops. The late-night worship is also well attended and provides a space for connecting with God in ways that they might not experience in their home church. Having this presence at the festival has enabled those attending to find out about, and sign up to, other Methodist opportunities and programmes for young adults across the Connexion.

It is encouraging to see that there has been a growth in the numbers of young adults who have been attending over the last few years. Many have returned year on year, with a number of new faces too. This year sees the largest number of young adults who will gather together.

Hugo, one of the young adults, explains what Cliff Festival means to him: “Cliff College and Cliff Festival have been important to me for a very long time now. Festival is a special time where I share happy memories of laughter, prayer and worship with many of my closest friends. Last year I made the decision to get baptised at Festival, to dedicate my life to Christ surrounded by friends and family that have played such an important role in my faith journey.”

Whatever your age, Cliff Festival can have a profound impact on your faith and the way you live it out. Last year over 40 Methodists took away copies of growth planning materials to try in their own churches, and 8 people felt God calling them to become a pioneer and start a new church, and received support with that at the event. Many others simply left the festival no longer feeling alone or exhausted.

The window for booking in advance has now closed, but the invitation is still open. You can come by buying day or half day tickets on the door. Are you longing for a space to tackle the big questions, to reconnect with God, to be refreshed in your calling, or to get support as you reimagine what church and mission is like in your context? Explore the programme and plan your visit here: www.clifffestival.co.uk