On April 19, First Baptist Church of Curitiba, Brazil, opened its doors for the launch of Esperança Curitiba with Will Graham, an evangelistic outreach that will take place in this beautiful city on September 16.
Michel Piragine, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, welcomed everyone and offered a prayer. "It is a privilege to receive you here in our home. We are excited about this dream and the great harvest we are going to have soon in this movement of unity," he said.
More than 400 people gathered for a time of praise and fervent prayer, asking God to use Esperança Curitiba to bring revival to their city.
The speakers made it clear that Esperança Curitiba consists of a single message: Hope is found only in Jesus Christ.
Each person who attended was encouraged to take the Christian Life and Witness Course (CLWC), free evangelism training provided by BGEA, which helps believers grow in their faith and share it with others. CLWC materials were translated into Portuguese.
As pastor of a local church in Rio de Janeiro, Davidson Freitas encouraged the crowd with his experience at Esperança Rio 2022 with Franklin Graham. "Our church participated from the beginning, church members were trained in the Christian Life and Witness Course, and evangelism became part of everyone's lifestyle. ... In this way, you could impact your city and other neighboring cities."
"It was a joy to see a space full of pastors and leaders praising God, and with a fervor … to share the Gospel in Curitiba and throughout the Paraná region," said Chris Swanson (left), vice president of Hispanic Initiatives for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).
At the end of the event, Pastor Marciano Ortencio, president at Núcleo de Pastores organization, prayed for the Esperança Curitiba team, for the city, and for the entire metropolitan region.
