“Glory to God that many souls surrendered to the feet of Christ for the salvation of souls,” said Julian Jimenez Muñoz.
Pipe Rojas wrote on the Festival de Esperanza Facebook page: “Holy Father, I thank you for being in my life and allowing me a new opportunity to be with you and with those I love. I thank you that the Festival of Hope was great.”
These are just three of many voices in the chorus of praise. The outcome of the Festival de Esperanza in Bogotá surpassed all expectations, and hope is high for the future of the church.
Crowds totaling 157,000 gathered over three days, Aug. 27-29, in Parque Simon Bolivar in Colombia’s capital city. More than 12,000 people made decisions for Christ.
A New Beginning
“This indeed is a new beginning for the work of evangelism in Colombia,” said Galo E. Vasquez, director of ministries for BGEA/Latin America. “National leaders from other major cities are already approaching BGEA for future Festivals across the nation.”
The numbers that responded to the public invitation to invite Christ into their lives, said Galo, “proved to the whole church that Colombians are eager to hear the Gospel and surrender their lives to the Son of God.”
He traced a bit of the history leading up the August 27-29 event: “For more than 30 years, local churches worked in isolation. National circumstances and leadership differences did not allow them to even think about sponsoring a united effort.”
About four years ago, Galo began to sense that perhaps the positive changes in Colombia could open the door for BGEA to come alongside the church in Bogotá and consider a united evangelistic effort to proclaim the Gospel.
“A dream became a reality when at least 900 churches came together and worked for 10 months to prepare the harvest.” Galo said. “Leaders are moved with the new sense of unity and with the impact on the city as a result of the Festival with Franklin Graham.”
Glory to God
Héctor Pardo, the president of the Festival Executive Committee, said: “The presence of Dr. Franklin Graham at the Festival of Hope, brought glory to God. He honored the name of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, called the Church to work together, and had a great impact on the city. The meeting with the President of Colombia opened the doors of hope for the church, the city and the nation.”
Speaking about Festiniños, the children’s rally, Hector called the outcome phenomenal. “It was a miracle that 80,000 children were able to attend in spite of a transportation problem. The outcome was by far the largest in the history of Festiniños.”
As for the long-term impact of Festival de Esperanza, Héctor said, “The Holy Spirit’s fire and the Church’s passion for sharing the Gospel are great.”
