After two years of mobilizing Christians across Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a Festival called Hope Rio (Esperança Rio) took place Saturday on Copacabana Beach. Nearly two dozen media outlets recently interviewed Franklin Graham about the Gospel-focused event.
Christ the Redeemer, a massive statue of Jesus Christ made out of soapstone and reinforced concrete, stands at the summit of Mount Corcovado in Rio. It was completed in 1931 and stands 98 feet tall, with its outstretched arms spanning 92 feet wide. During the Festival, attendees heard how they can have a relationship with the real, living Christ.
"Vida" means "life" in Portuguese. Saturday, Franklin Graham shared how to have eternal life.
Franklin Graham's oldest son, Will Graham, went along with him for this event, helping cover the event in prayer. Will Graham also led devotions for the local Billy Graham Evangelistic Association team Friday morning in a conference room overlooking the beach where the Festival is held.
Planned to be a six-hour event, the free Festival included activities for children and anyone who wanted to come.
Rio de Janeiro is home to more than 11 million people. The city is known for beautiful beaches and coastal hills, but also faces issues with drugs, human trafficking and prostitution.
More than 35,000 people were trained to share their faith through the Christian Life and Witness Course. Thousands of them served as counselors at the Festival, making themselves available to answer people's faith questions, lead them to Christ and connect them to local churches after the event.
To help get people to the event—especially those in the slums, or favelas—60,000 passes were handed out to cover the cost of transportation, whether by bus, boat or train. Please pray for all who came to the event, that they will leave transformed by the power of the Gospel.
