Throughout Catalyst Festival 2026, we heard stories of God meeting people in powerful and deeply personal ways. From physical healing to freedom from past pain, these testimonies remind us of the hope we have in Jesus and the power of prayer.

We asked people who experienced healing during the festival to share their stories with us. Here are some of the stories we received.

“The spring has returned to my steps” — Kevin

During one of the main meetings there was a word about people with back and knee problems.

I have had a history of sciatica which was healed several years ago. I have had problems this year for several months, with a stiff lower back and weakness in my knees making it difficult to run.

I responded to the word and several people around me prayed for me.

I am glad to say that, although there was no obvious change at the time, I am now able to run easily again, and the spring has returned to my steps; I can leap over pools on the beach with no pain on landing which I hadn’t been able to do at all earlier this year.

I thank God for using his people to bring me healing.

The previous pain had meant that I have become less fit. God has enabled me to run again, I now need to keep running to regain fitness.

“I have been completely set free” — Matt

I have been a Christian pretty much my whole life and have a good relationship with God but something was not right and I knew it. I came to Catalyst with one cry. I needed an encounter with Jesus. I wanted to echo the cry of Job: “I had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you”. I came expectant that God would meet me.

On the first night we sang “You Are Holy” by Jesus Image. The first line is “I saw the Lord in his temple”, which is Isaiah 6 and symbolic of what I was anticipating. I ended up instantly flat on my face. During that time of worship God took me back into some of the oldest and most painful memories of my life, the bullying I carried from childhood. Initially it was about seeing him present and drawing strength and comfort from that. Thinking about it later, I felt God saying to me that he is not just the Lion of strength but also the lamb who was slain and that he died for them too. That was just the start.

Later in the weekend, God took me back to a very specific memory where I was chased off the bus as a young kid by a guy called Lee. I ran out in front of the bus to try and get away and nearly got run over by a lady from church who was traumatised by the whole incident.

In a vision of the memory, as I was getting off the bus, Jesus was standing there. He said to me “you have got this, Matt” and he handed me a towel. I put it round my waist, got down on my hands and knees and washed Lee's feet.

In that moment, the pain that had always lived in those memories was replaced with compassion. Not erased. Healed at the place it had always hurt.

I found myself forgiving the people who hurt me, praying for them and longing for God to save them so that one day in glory we would be able to truly reconcile. They have no hold over me anymore. I have been completely set free and it has changed my life. Don't take my word for it but believe me when my wife says it!

Psalm 103 calls it being redeemed from the pit and crowned with love and compassion. That stopped being a verse and became my story this weekend. The word became flesh, and I am alive and free.

It has transformed my marriage. We are celebrating 20 years of marriage in July. It has been rocky to say the least and had almost reached breaking point a few days before Catalyst because both of us are neurodivergent, both have a history of trauma and our past was showing up in our present in ways that we had not fully recognised.

It's still a marriage, so it's still hard. I think God would probably say that iron sharpening iron is up there as one of the key features of marriage. But now it is good. We are better connected, more relaxed and looking forward to the next 20 years.

Thank you, all of you, for hosting the room where it happened. I know a lot of hard work went into making it happen and I hope that hearing stories like this energises and prepares you for next time.

“The pain went” — Caroline

Caroline arrived at Catalyst after a five-hour drive exhausted and in pain. She had been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, degenerative changes in her spine and spondylolisthesis at L5/S1, as well as fibromyalgia. More recently, she had also been diagnosed with degenerative changes in her right hip.

For some time, she had been using a stick when walking more than about 100 yards to reduce the pain.

At Catalyst, Caroline responded to a call for prayer for specific conditions, including back pain. A woman behind her prayed for her and the pain reduced a little. When she was prayed for again, she says, “the pain went.”

By the end of the meeting, Caroline realised that the pain in her hip had also gone.

She walked back to her campsite carrying her stick, but with a normal gait and at a normal pace. She then walked to and from the evening meeting without her stick or any pain and slept without pain.

But that wasn’t all.

The following morning, Caroline took down her awning and packed everything away by herself, including her table and camping toilet. Afterwards, she realised she hadn’t needed to rest once.

After returning home, she continued to notice a significant difference. She says the arthritic pain had gone, as had the fatigue she had experienced with fibromyalgia.

Two weekends after Catalyst, she attended another festival, where she went line dancing, joined in the conga, walked along a riverbank and helped someone else put up and take down an eight-man tent, as well as setting up and taking down her own camping equipment.

She says she has continued walking without a stick and sleeping without the arthritic pain.

“I do not say I am healed of arthritis as I haven’t been X-rayed, but I have been healed of pain and fatigue.”

She knows she will need to rebuild her stamina, but recently walked a mile and a half without a stick, without stopping and at an average speed of 5km/h.

“I have no idea why God would do this for me – I know people that I consider much more deserving, who have far worse symptoms and conditions – but He has! And I keep telling people!”

“I have not had it since then!” — Jiji

Jiji Abraham, from Real Life Church in Sutton Coldfield, came to Catalyst after being diagnosed with sciatica the week before the festival, although she had been experiencing symptoms for some time.

On the first night of Catalyst, a prophetic word was brought for people suffering from sciatica, and Jiji responded.

Josh Daniels and Aaron from her church prayed with her.

Three weeks after Catalyst, Jiji shared that she had not experienced the sciatica since the prayer.

“Praise God!”

We celebrate what God is doing

Every testimony is personal, and we know that healing does not always happen in the way or at the time we hope. But we can celebrate every story of someone encountering Jesus, receiving prayer and experiencing His presence.

We are grateful for every person who prayed, every person who responded to a word and every story shared with us after Catalyst Festival.

God is still at work, and we want to keep making space for people to encounter Him.