A Journey of Faith and Miracles: Christy Reid and the Vision of UnityFest USA

Join us on this episode of Quirks, Bumps, and Bruises as we sit down with Christy Reid, the inspiring CEO of UnityFest USA. Christy shares her incredible journey of faith and obedience, detailing how UnityFest brings together diverse musical genres to glorify God. She recounts miraculous stories of financial provisions, where God's timing and generosity have surpassed all expectations, reinforcing the power of steadfast faith and trust. Christy's testimony highlights the need for churches to embrace all forms of music and celebrate the growing success of UnityFest, which is drawing larger crowds and may soon require a bigger venue. Her story is a powerful reminder of God's ability to move mountains when we trust and obey.

Transcript

0:00:00 - Melody

Hi, I'm Melody and I'm Candi and you're listening to Quirks, Bumps, and Bruises. 

0:00:08 - Candi

Hey there, on this episode of Quirks, bumps and Bruises, we are so excited to sit down and talk with Christy Reid, who is the CEO of UnityFest USA. 

0:00:18 - Melody

And the way that UnityFest came about is nothing short of miraculous and all done through her faithfulness, through her ability to wait and listen to the voice of God and then to step out in obedience. We think you're going to want to hear her story, Christy. I love the idea of bringing all kinds of music together. I am one that I was a worship leader for 36 years and I saw music change drastically. You know, in that 36 years, and one thing I have never understood. I will never understand it. It's why churches can't do it all. I've never understood why it has to be either contemporary or traditional, or you know why, it's just great to have it all. So this is to me an excellent, wonderful idea, and I'm glad God laid that on your heart. 

0:01:12 - Christy

I thank you for helping us with this and sharing it and supporting us. It's just a blessing because I just want God to be glorified in it all. I mean I'm just trying to be the hands and feet and obedient little servant down here because my faith is like through the roof and I mean just to let you know. 

it's like God has proven himself through it, just especially through the financial end of it, because we, literally last year, we still needed $55,000 the week of I mean before the event, just to have the event that was due beforehand, and it was three days before the event that God provided. 

0:01:55 - Melody

Wow. 

0:01:56 - Christy

And I said, I was like there's no turning back God. You said that you would do it and I know you're stretching my face to see if I'll stand and I'm going to keep standing no matter what. And he provided. Well then, yesterday morning we still needed eighty two thousand dollars just to have the event. And you know, two weeks ahead of time you're like in less than two weeks. It's like OK, god. But I said, you know, god, you've proven yourself faithful. 

And everybody was like I would be pulling my hair out. I couldn't sleep at night and I said but see the God I serve. He said that he gets the glory when we're between the Red Sea and Pharaoh's army and that's when he moves. And people know that it was God Right. And so yesterday morning I just hit my face and I said, lord, if you could just come through sooner so that, because this year is so much bigger, I have so much organizing I have to do, and it was just if you could just find favor today. Well, when I got home yesterday afternoon, we had ninety five thousand dollars given. 

0:03:00 - Melody

And I was just like, by one person, by one God, by one either business or person. 

0:03:08 - Christy

One gave $80,000 and the other was $15,000. That came in the mail. 

0:03:16 - Melody

See, I love that, because he not only answered that prayer, he went above and over. But you need it Above and beyond. 

0:03:22 - Christy

Yes, ma'am, yes, ma'am, wow. So it's like those kind of moments like that that he says I've got you, don't worry, I've got you and he just wants that's where he wants our faith is believing when it seems impossible and God's saying I'm God, just ask me and believe it's that, believing and trusting that he's looking for me and believe it's that, believing and trusting that he's looking for you know we can say we have faith for him. To you know, save our soul eternally. But when we have little things like this in our lives that we really need them to move, do we believe? And he was like, if you just keep going and give it to me, I got it. 

So that's where we're going to see more and more supernatural things as our faith increases. And that's one thing that UnityFest has done is through these kind of God moments and stories and testimonies that he's done not man, but he's done that just everybody that I have shared it with it. Like that increases my faith so much. And I was like all he wants to do, he wants us to believe that he is the same God as he was when he parted the Red Sea, when he healed the leper, when he opened blinded eyes. He's that same God. It's our faith that needs to get to that level. 

0:04:40 - Melody

I kind of think of it, Christy, as a parent, and when you're raising your children and they're small and you give them little things and to see how they handle it, and then, as they do it, then you can trust them with bigger things, and then bigger things, and I feel like that's how God works in our lives as well. He gives us these things and I go, all right, let's see, let's see what you got these things. And I go, all right, let's see what you got, right, exactly. And then when we follow and are obedient, even through the waiting, even through the not knowing, even through we don't know what we're doing here, and you still stay steadfast, then he's going to give you even more, and so I can see this thing ended up being well. Let me just put it this way, Christy, I believe you're going to have to find something bigger than a football stadium at a high school. 

0:05:27 - Christy

We've already said that we're actually just to me, because we were going to, I mean, the ticket sales. We've already gotten over 12,000 in total ticket sales. 

0:05:36 - Melody

Oh, 12,000 people have already gotten passes. 

0:05:40 - Christy

Right. So of course, Saturday has your most like. Right now we're at 9,000. On Saturday, our capacity was going to be at 7,200 when we met with the county board. So when I started sharing the story of everything behind UnityFest, I mean within that meeting, everything just changed and they said well, let's see what we can do. If you take down this back fence back here, then we can up it to 10,871. 

And we're like we'll take it down, and so the school is like whatever you need to do, just do it and we're like oh my God. 

0:06:16 - Melody

You know that's amazing in and of itself that the school is being that accommodating. 

0:06:21 - Christy

you know that was the first miracle is when God gave me the vision and I went to the principal and sat down and he didn't know me. I didn't know. And I told him the vision that God gave me and I said I need to see what I can do about renting the football stadium. I said, because I know that's where God showed me. I said I know that's where it was and he said you know what? At the time the athletic director was saying well, we charge this and we charge this and we charge this. And the principal looked and he said you know what? I'm waiving all of that. I'm not going to charge you a thing. All you need to do is just to have special event insurance and you're good. And I was like what? But it was like a testament. That was the first miracle of us having this big Christian event on a school ground. 

0:07:06 - Melody

What is the closest college to you? 

0:07:10 - Christy

I know Sandhills Community College is Well, I mean that has like a football team. Oh, the closest college with football team would probably be like. 

0:07:21 - Melody

UNC. Yeah, you may be headed toward a college stadium. Well, what? 

0:07:27 - Christy

I'm looking for, or what my husband and I have been praying, is there's a lot of farmland around here that you know. Housing developers are trying to buy them all and put up all these housing developments, but I would love to have the land to build the venue where churches can sit all year long. I'm claiming it. I'm like, yes, lord. 

0:07:51 - Melody

Well, let me tell you something To give you a little bit of encouragement on that. A couple of weeks ago we did an event with Joy FM at a place called Sipe Farm, and it is a man, a wonderful man. He's like you, he's like I'm just going to do it. You know, I'm just going to follow the Lord in this and he started out years ago with maybe 200 people on his farm. He owns a big farm and, to make a long story short, you know about 3000 show up now to this and he has built this beautiful where the stage is and people can sit underneath shelter, you know, and he brings in food trucks and you know vendors and that kind of thing. So I say all that to say this it's not near as big as what you've got going on, but what I wanted you to know is that land and doing that is doable. 

0:08:48 - Christy

Yes, ma'am that is. 

0:08:51 - Melody

God owns it all. And how nice would that be to just have your own place where you know every year and you could go ahead and build what you need. You know. So it's always there, and every year he builds something new. This year he built this beautiful area that all the vendors could set up their tables and things Our radio station was there, as well as the artists that were there and their tables and that kind of thing but he built it so that we were all under shelter with no sun hitting us. That's wonderful, and it helps if it rains, you know, and that kind of thing. So that is definitely something that you could be praying about. But hey, you done said it now. So you better be prepared, girlfriend. I'm ready, lord. 

0:09:36 - Christy

It's just like what do I do with my business, god? Because this has always been my city on a hill, this is my little church here, and so I'm like Lord, I'm okay if you want me to go full-time in this, because this two full-time jobs oh yeah, I've been there. 

0:09:51 - Melody

I've been there and done that before too. Yeah, you might only be doing your family's hair real soon. I know, I know. 

0:09:57 - Christy

Exactly. 

0:09:58 - Melody

I got to ask you this, though what do you do for restrooms? Do you bring in those? I know there's porta-potties, but do you bring in those like really nice restrooms that can be brought in For? 

0:10:09 - Christy

the artists. We do. Yeah, we bring in like because the back end of the field where the stage is, we set up the big artist hospitality tent, we have couches, I mean it's like huge, it's a 30 by 60, no 40 by 60 or something like that. It's like huge, it's a 30 by 60. No 40 by 60 or something like that. Anyway, we have a chef that does all the catering right there for the artists and we feed the volunteers and the stage crew. But back there for the artists we have the plush flush, like the flushable air-conditioned units that come in. And then the football stadium has the big athletic building that has the bathrooms in it. 

0:10:50 - Melody

Oh, yeah, yeah yeah, because of the amount of people that we have. 

0:10:53 - Christy

we bring in even more Horta Johns, but we do the big ones. You know, it's not just these little, yeah, yeah. 

0:11:02 - Melody

That's what I think. Oh, I know, oh, I know those are the worst. 

0:11:07 - Christy

Yeah, we bring in a lot of them and then we have them flushed every day. 

0:11:11 - Melody

Yeah, yeah, that's great. That's great. I noticed at Sight Farm at our event they had hired someone about every hour on the hour. They go in and clean them. Wow, and that's you know, because, as you know, it's just nice. There's no way you can say a port-a-john is good in any kind of circumstance. That's true. Well, Christy, thank you again and thank you for being patient with us as we got everything worked out and we'll get this on the air and hopefully you'll see our audience the Southern Gospel audience loves Jason. Of course, he's been around a long time. He's more contemporary now, but Karen Peck and New River is beloved by the Southern Gospel family and I don't know if you've ever gotten to work with them before, but they are just, they're wonderful. 

0:11:59 - Christy

She is, she really is. And it's like last year we had like Heart to Heart and Second Chance and Haley Smith, so they were more of the country. And so, just like this year, I'm like, ok, god, who is it this year? And so then, which the artists that we that have been affiliated with Unity Fest, like in the past, we try to kind of like push forward to the next venue and then you know the next area, because they know what we're about, what we're going for, and it's more of the ministry instead of the festival. Right, you know what I'm saying? Right, it's the purpose more than the concert, right, so it's been amazing. So I can't wait to see what God does. I'm like, lord, just tell me when to sell my house. 

0:12:46 - Melody

And get a camper. Well, I know you will love having Karen Peck in your river there, as well as the one and only Jason Crabb. He's the type you feel like he'd just come sit in your living room with you and have a cup of coffee. You know how he is. 

0:13:00 - Christy

Oh he does. I know it's like we text all the time. We actually have become more like brother and sister where he'll say you're so stupid. I'm like I try, he's great. 

But I feel like I've seen afterwards, like when God told me Jason Crabb because, like I said, I didn't know him, knew he was southern gospel, and so the church I grew up in, southern gospel that's what my sisters and I sang was southern gospel. So when God literally pulled me out of my dad's church and you're talking about the biggest trial and test and told me to go to this other church where I knew nobody and they were like contemporary, I mean it was like that's, all they did was contemporary and I was was like oh my gosh. But the next thing I know they invited me to join the because everybody knew me in the area of being, you know David Bobby's daughter, and so they knew where I came from and all. So they were like you sing, get up here on the praise team and I had to learn all these new contemporary songs and everything. And then when he said Jason Crabb, and then when the pastor said we're having Jason Crabb here in concert, I'm like wait what? Because I knew they weren't Southern Gospel, but little did I know that Jason was kind of doing that transition of trying to build a bigger audience, you know Southern Gospel and contemporary, and so that's what kind of lightened me. 

But the song that he called me up to sing with him was Through the Fire, and so every time that I would sing him after that he called me up on stage to sing with him and it was just like that was a God thing, because I didn't say a word about the vision, because I didn't tell nobody but my husband. So it was just kind of like oh my gosh, the next thing, you know, Blaine, his piano, invites us to his condo in Nashville to stay for a week, and then that's where I met Jason's manager. It was just like the doors. Those were the doors that God was opening and at the time I'm just in there, how did we end up here? 

But it was God, and so he just let me see. But it was God, and so he just let me see. And to the mentoring of Jason, you know, kind of like explaining, like the behind the scenes from the artist view and the real deal, and you know, of course, that discernment you got to have. But it's just been a journey, a big journey of faith, and it's just getting bigger and bigger and I'm like, ok, lord, the finale would be great if you just send Jesus. 

0:15:25 - Melody

Oh, yes, yes, yes, oh, that's awesome. Well, Christy, thank you again. You have been a delight to talk to. I appreciate it. Have a great, great day. 

0:15:35 - Announcer 1

Thanks for listening to the Quirks, Bumps and Bruises Podcast with Candi and Melody. If you enjoyed the show, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and share the podcast. You can learn more at joyFM.org. 

0:15:52 - Announcer 2

Try Peas and Carrots Podcast for more encouragement. Brian and Kayla share life from their piece of the vegetable patch. Expect to laugh, find common ground, and hear stories you can't wait to share. It's a podcast about doing life together, growing in Christ together, and learning to laugh no matter what comes your way. Search Peas and Carrots Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts today.