Luis Palau – Evangelist

Profile of: Evangelist, Luis Palau

More than four decades after arriving in America from his native Argentina, Luis Palau is more intent than ever to follow his calling: to spread the powerful word of God throughout the world. Whether on stage speaking to crowds of a quarter million people; through his radio messages heard daily in over 40 countries; or in counsel and prayer with leaders from the local church to the White House, Palau consistently remains one of the world’s most effective and compelling spiritual communicators.

From his early days sharing the Gospel on the streets of Buenos Aires to the “Great music & Good News” festival evangelism ministry that has had a positive impact on audiences around the globe, Luis Palau has continually inspired the millions who have heard his message of faith and hope. In 2006, Palau is keeping an ages-old faith fresh and alive for the 21st century.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Luis Palau embraced the new millennium – and contemporary life and culture – long before it arrived. His festival evangelism ministry, which travels to numerous cities and countries each year, has all the best elements of today’s most popular music festivals (everything from hot contemporary music acts and exotic foods to a state-of-the-art action sports skate park).

Though these elements help draw huge crowds and provide free, family-friendly entertainment, Palau never loses sight of his ministry’s ultimate goal: to share to claims of Christ with a troubled world in troubled times.

“A nation will not be moved by timid methods,” says Palau, explaining why his free festivals have attracted millions of young people and families of all races and denominations. “Today’s young people understand music and technology, but few have an understanding of what a life walked in faith can produce. They don’t know the person of Jesus Christ – that He is alive, that He is divine, and that He wants every one of us to know Him personally.”

What makes Luis Palau’s ministry so effective is its non-traditional and “open arms” approach. Each year, Palau stages 4-6 major festivals in the U.S. and abroad. These world-class, full multi-media productions feature the biggest names in Christian music, from rock to rap to gospel. In addition, the Palau team – in partnership with another Palau ministry called “Livin’ It” – erects a massive skate park in each city that showcases some of the top Christian athletes in the action sports of skateboarding, BMX and motocross. For children, there is a tie-in with VeggieTales, one of the most popular family video franchises in history.

The festivals are always free and open to everyone. The finances are raised behind the scenes, and there is never a financial offering requested from the massive crowds. Palau Festivals are able to do this by overseeing a highly professional and strategically organized operation that spends nearly two years building financial and spiritual support from hundreds of area churches and businesses and from national resources as well.

Palau’s organization has over 100 full time staff people on four continents; thousands of volunteers and local supporters join in as the festival dates approach. The ministry is led day-to-day by Palau’s adult sons (Kevin, Keith and Andrew), whom he credits with helping him realize how much evangelism needed a fresh, modern approach if it was to communicate the claims of Christ in contemporary society.

”We work hard with business people, professional people,” he says. “We start with the area churches and supplement it with financial support from businesses and individuals. We work night and day to keep the operation one of total integrity.”

All of this enables Palau to keep the entire festival focused on the entertainment and the spiritual message, one that is also unlike that of many of his contemporaries.

“We emphasize Christ more than Christianity or denominations,” Palau says. “We focus on what Christians are for, not what we might be against. As an evangelist, my role is to share the Good News of our Savior: we leave the politics to others.”

“Some Biblical Christians and evangelists have made an issue out of one or two major concerns, and that’s it,” says Palau. “What we seek always to be is more than a ministry that only deals with two or three particular sins. We want them to know answers to: ‘Who is Christ? What can He do? Can He really change my life? What does it mean?’ That’s what we’re really trying to do. We want people to think of Christianity differently. And of Christ differently.”

Palau’s lively and relevant messages – and the invitation to follow Jesus Christ – are the core and heart of it all, but they’re effectively surrounded by performances by the nation’s biggest Christian acts.

“These Christian musicians are very spiritual people.” he says. “The music is contemporary and not always to everyone’s particular tastes, but the musicians are committed, grounded, and very effective at reaching people through their music. Christianity is contemporary – it’s for today. Christ is alive today! He understands and loves today’s kids and wants them to be part of God’s kingdom.”

Born into an affluent family in Argentina, Palau discovered Christ while still a child at home with his parents. His father died when Palau was 10, and Luis soon became the sole support for his mother and five sisters. He recalls days when the sole meal for the family was a single loaf of bread. While still a teenage, he began his lifelong vision for world evangelism by preaching on street corners.

He entered the banking industry, become a successful executive before entering Multnomah Biblical Seminary in Portland, Oregon, where he met his wife, Patricia. Together they embarked on a missionary journey that took them throughout Latin America. They took the Gospel to places where, all too often, they weren’t welcome.

Luis and Pat began building an evangelistic team and aiding other evangelists-—including interpreting for Billy Graham, a primary influence on Luis’ own ministry. In the 1970s, invitations started coming from Europe and other parts of the world. By the early 1980s, Luis Palau’s ministry had made a great impact in Western Europe and new doors were opening around the globe.

Not until the 1990s did Luis focus on the United States – by 1996, he’d led evangelistic crusades in 15 U.S. cities. Yet despite continuing invitations, the Palau team felt it was time for a change.

“We were on the verge of saying, ‘OK, maybe somehow God doesn’t want us in America.’ The crowds were OK, but we weren’t getting through.”

“We began to realize that the classic ‘campaign model’ – uniformed choir, the suits on the platform, the old hymns – wasn’t the way to go for us,” Luis says. “We want to attract the un-churched, and we want them to encounter God, and bring them all to Christ and to understand and to connect. We also want to unite and energize the church community wherever we go.”

Palau, at the suggestion of his sons, moved to the current method of “Festival evangelism” in 1999. Since then, over 4.5 million people have heard the Good News at a Palau Festival.

“We wouldn’t ever go back to the old method. This is for today,” he says.

Today, Palau maintains his operation in Portland, Oregon but brings his message to the world, from China to Western Europe, from South Florida to South America.=

“I’d love to see a massive breakthrough,” he says. “An international revival of Christianity. I’d love to see the nations truly reawaken where not just a few thousand, but millions discover Christ again. That is my dream.”

Have you ever felt like you’re looking for meaning in all the wrong place? Are you circling round and round but still not finding happiness? Perhaps it’s time you asked Jesus to help you take stock of your life before a crisis hits. If you don’t know Jesus, we encourage you to pray the following:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. Make me be the person you want me to be.

TweetEmailPrint