That was the level of generosity that awaited the organisers of the service, the Parkes Ministers Association, on January 8 and it left them a little speechless.

Overall $6852.16 was collected from the event, which each year aims to raise funds for local charities and causes.

The amount was split in half and this year donated to Safe Haven, the new mental health facility providing refuge for those who need it that opened in Parkes at the end of 2021, and the Parkes Association of Christian Education.

Representatives from both organisations were on hand on Friday to gratefully accept the cheques from the Parkes Ministers Association and Elvis Festival director Tiffany Steel.

"It's the best service we've had in a while," Neil Westcott from the Parkes Ministers Association said.

"People were very generous, even before the service started there were people coming to us to donate," wife Alison Westcott added.

"A big percentage of the funds came before the service started... People were handing us $100 dollar notes."

Thanks to the several methods festival organisers use to count numbers, they've estimated about 3000 or 4000 people attended the gospel service.

The festival in total attracted an estimated 25,000 fans.

"By the end there the [gospel service] crowd was huge," Neil said.

"I thought it was as big as we've ever had and nobody was leaving either, given we went half an hour longer and squeezed everything into a big program, so they were engaged which is fantastic."

Tiffany said the gospel service, with its humble beginnings in the Parkes Uniting Church to its first audience of 80, was a real success story.

"They (Parkes Ministers Association) were running it on no budget," she said.

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Neil added another success story was that of the new Cooke Park Pavilion, the multi-million dollar multipurpose facility that's just over 12 months old, and the endless opportunities it possesses.

"A lot of people were unsure of it when it was first announced in the main street revitalisation works but it's just been amazing," he said.

"Before entertainers waiting to go on stage on the old main stage, were waiting down on the grass and all they had were portaloos, now they've got an air-conditioned room at the back with a kitchen."

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