‘I STILL BELIEVE’

Despite enduring incredible loss, Jeremy Camp still believes. And that was more than evident Aug. 19 as he electrified a crowd of more than 2,000 believers at Faithfest during the Steele County Free Fair.

At just 23 years old, Camp was devastated by the loss of his wife of only three months to ovarian cancer. While he did not abandon his faith, he did experience a profound, painful period of grief, spiritual wrestling and deep confusion.

“God is a faithful God in the highs and lows of life,” Camp told the crowd. “He has been so faithful in my life.”

Camp shared how he wrestled with God in frustration.

“My faith was rocked to a core when my wife died,” he admitted. “I was super young and I thought I had so much faith,” he said, adding he wasn’t sure if he could trust God any longer.

But God worked in his life, providing him with the inspiration for what has become his iconic song, “I Still Believe.” Just a few weeks after his wife’s death, Camp said he was inspired to pick up a guitar when he explicitly did not feel like singing or writing.

The song’s core lyric is “I still believe in your faithfulness… I still believe in your truth… even when I don’t see.” His message is how the tragedy didn’t destroy his faith; instead, it completely transformed and deepened it.

Camp delivers a high-energy mix of up-tempo Christian rock, intimate personal testimony and communal worship. He uses hits like “Dead Man Walking” and “Reflector” to get everyone on their feet and singing along.

“I love watching people encounter Jesus,” Camp said. “It brings me so much joy with people who encounter the living God. His love for us never changes.”

At one point, he asked the crowd to turn on their phone flashlights during an emotionally heavy moment. The entire infield and grandstand lit up with lights.

Tasheena Cook of Owatonna found Faithfest to be amazing. She found herself “blown away” with so many emotions that gave her a heavy heart.

“It’s so powerful to have this many believers in one place,” she said. “It makes you feel like you are not alone when there are so many believers together.”

Cook said she fell in love with Camp’s music and other Christian songs while serving overseas in the military many years ago. “It’s what brought me peace over there,” she said.

She said she finds it refreshing that Owatonna is bringing religious singers to the forefront, especially at the fair.

Naomi Jirele, who serves as a pastor at Owatonna Christian Church, found Faithfest to be phenomenal. “I was wooed by the presence of all the people,” she said, adding the most touching moment for her was all the lights on the phones shining at once. 

“The Bible talks about unity,” Jirele said. “When you get all these people worshipping in one place, he is going to work in their lives.”

Jirele found herself inspired by Camp’s presence and not necessarily his words. “It’s how he lives. He is so genuine, and in that authority, there is so much power. Jeremy Camp is a vessel and he knows that.”

For Jirele, Camp’s song, “I Still Believe,” brought her to a place where she has been herself. She lost her son, Ryan, to cancer a few years ago. “There’s a lot of questions. It brought us closer because we had to go past our own level of faith and needed to look beyond us.”

Brian Deml of Owatonna found it wasn’t so much the music but rather the people that inspired him during Faithfest. “It’s about the people we connected with,” he said.

Deml’s key takeaways from Faithfest?

“God loves us, and we are all in this together.”

Joining Camp during Faithfest were Thunderstorm Artis and Jon Reddick.