More than a month after a record-setting RiseFest brought over 30,000 people to Sheldon, RISE Ministries Founder and CEO Rob Roozeboom says he is finally beginning to process the magnitude of the weekend.
The 2026 festival drew a two-day attendance of 30,100 people, breaking both the previous RiseFest record and a long-discussed goal of surpassing the largest documented gathering in Sheldon history.
The festival also marked the 20th anniversary of RiseFest and the 25th anniversary of RISE Ministries, with organizers reporting 52 baptisms during the weekend.
A Record Still Sinking In
Roozeboom, speaking on The Daily Grind, said the weeks since the festival have given him time to reflect on an event that exceeded even his expectations.
“I think now I can actually process all of it,” Roozeboom said. “It took a while.”
He said the weekend included things he had dreamed about for years, from breaking the attendance record to seeing the response to the artists, speakers and the festival’s spiritual message.
Roozeboom said the size of Friday’s crowd gave him confidence that the record would fall, but he did not expect the final two-day total to climb above 30,000.
The crowd became especially apparent Saturday night. Roozeboom said he walked toward the back of the grounds during Phil Wickham’s performance and found the audience stretching to within a few rows of the festival’s information booth near the main entrance.
Young Crowd Stands Out
One of the most encouraging parts of the weekend, Roozeboom said, was the number of children, teenagers, and young adults in attendance.
RiseFest has traditionally offered 1,000 free tickets for children ages 10 and younger. Roozeboom said organizers knew before the festival that they had already exceeded that amount.
“Heading into the festival we were already at 1,400,” Roozeboom said. “Then we find out at our meeting Saturday morning, we’re already at 2,000 of those tickets. Then I learned we ran out of those tickets.”
Organizers eventually used children’s tickets left over from a previous festival year as the number of young attendees continued to grow.
Roozeboom said the youth turnout was particularly noticeable during Josiah Queen’s Friday night performance. When Queen stopped singing, Roozeboom said the voices of children in the crowd could be heard continuing the lyrics.
He also pointed to the performers’ ages, noting that Queen, his band, and several other artists represented a younger generation leading people of all ages in worship.
Record Crowd Tests Festival Grounds
The attendance surge also tested RiseFest’s parking and traffic plans.
Roozeboom said Friday presented the largest challenge because many attendees arrived around the same time after work. The Sheldon Police Department and other law enforcement officers helped festival staff and volunteers manage the traffic.
Festival organizers also relied on neighboring properties as available parking spaces began to fill.
Despite the congestion, Roozeboom said the team was able to clear vehicles from the grounds within about an hour at the end of each night.
He credited RiseFest’s volunteers and leaders for adapting throughout the weekend and said positive comments from artists about how the festival is operated reflect the work of that team.
Can 30,000 Happen Again?
The record crowd has already led to questions about whether RiseFest will need to secure additional parking or make other changes before the 2027 festival.
Roozeboom said organizers are not ready to assume that more than 30,000 people will become the festival’s new normal.
“Now the question is, will that door be opened again? Can it consistently be at that kind of level? Only time will tell,” Roozeboom said. “I need to see 30,000 people show up again. And then we’ll talk about whether we need more parking or not.”
Planning for RiseFest 2027 is already underway, including conversations about potential artists, although Roozeboom said he could not yet disclose any details.
For now, he said the lasting feeling from the 2026 festival remains one of gratitude and amazement over what took place.
Roozeboom said he is still in awe of the weekend and continues to smile when reflecting on what he described as something special.
