A thousand names fill a large mural in AD Cidade church, an Assemblies of God congregation in Fortaleza, Brazil. These aren’t random names, but the names of friends and family members who don’t have a relationship with Christ.
Fortaleza will host the Festival de Esperança (Festival of Hope) with Franklin Graham this weekend, and hundreds of churches are coming together to make it happen.
For Hilquias Benício, pastor of AD Cidade, it’s not just a weekend-long event, but a springboard for changing people’s lives, and eventually, the community.
“I see [the Festival] as God’s answer to our city that needs true hope,” Benício said, adding that in Fortaleza, “violence has grown to the point of being listed as the fifth most violent city in the world.”
Yet it doesn’t have to stay that way. Pastors like Benício want to see the city come to be known for something else.
“My hope,” Benício continued, “is that we will not be overcome by relativism, secularism and the shallow religiosity. My hope is that Brazil knows Christ and has a deep relationship with this wonderful God.”
It’s not just hope anymore, either; Benício is seeing people form that deep relationship with God, right in his church.
Each time a church gets involved in a Franklin Graham Festival, members are encouraged to invite their friends, especially those who need the kind of hope only Christ provides.
That sparked the idea for the prayer mural.
At the top of the mural in Benício’s church are the words “Praying together for salvation” in Portuguese—a tangible way to prompt the church to pray for friends and family members.
“In every service, we pray for our friends and for them to be reached with the Gospel and be with us in the Arena Castelão,” Benício said.
Arena Castelão, the venue for several recent World Cup games, will host the much-anticipated Festival. Thousands will again pour into the arena this weekend, and among them, members of AD Cidade hope to see the people they’ve been praying for.
The church has already seen a huge answer to prayer, with more than 40 people giving their lives over to Christ—including a couple of people Pastor Benício himself added to the prayer mural.
“I am very happy for those who interceded and friends who have confessed Christ as Lord and Savior,” Benício said. “There are whole families following Jesus. People are preparing for baptism, couples [improving] their married life, and full of desire to serve and share with others the changes they have experienced in their lives.
“There are people whose names were on the banner, and now they are going to the Festival not as guests, but bringing non-believing friends to know more about Christ. God be praised!”
Please pray for many people to encounter and accept Jesus Christ at the Festival of Hope, which takes place Oct. 23-24 in Fortaleza.
