Christian evangelist Bryce Crawford has preached the Gospel inside The Satanic Temple’s headquarters, but he says another place felt even more spiritually oppressive: Burning Man.

Crawford, a Gen Z evangelist known for sharing his faith with people from vastly different backgrounds, described his experience at the annual Nevada festival during an interview on “The Shawn Ryan Show.” A clip from the May interview recently resurfaced on social media.

Burning Man was “probably the darkest place I’ve ever been,” Crawford said.

“It was worse than The Satanic Temple,” he added.

Crawford attended Burning Man in 2024 to share the Gospel with festivalgoers. The week-long event draws tens of thousands of people to Nevada’s Black Rock Desert for an experimental community centered around art, self-expression and participation.

Crawford, however, described encountering widespread drug use, nudity and sexual activity while there. He said he prayed for God to protect his eyes and heart as he ministered.

The festival culminates in the burning of a large wooden figure known as “the Man.” Burning Man also includes a separate Temple structure, where participants often leave messages and memorials before it is burned at the festival’s conclusion.

Crawford said he experienced a spiritual heaviness while evangelizing at the gathering.

“It was really dark,” he said, describing a strange weight on his chest. Despite that experience, Crawford said he and other Christians were able to have meaningful conversations about faith.

“But we were able to talk to people and have fruitful conversations and reach people,” he said. “It was amazing.”

Crawford previously visited The Satanic Temple’s headquarters in Salem, Massachusetts, twice to share the Gospel and pray. He similarly described the location as spiritually unsettling.

“You feel this, like, uneasiness in your heart, in your spirit,” Crawford said. “It feels dark. It feels demonic. It feels heavy.”

Yet Crawford said his experiences in both places ultimately reinforced a central message he wants other Christians to remember: Christians should not respond to people with fear or condemnation but should pray for them and share their faith.

“It’s dark, and it’s heavy in there, but the Bible tells us that Jesus is the light,” Crawford said. “And if He lives inside of us, we can be the light anywhere at all times to anybody.”