A Passion for the Gospel in Madrid Ahead of Franklin Graham Festival

by Staff Writer   |     |   , ,
Thousands of young people attended Pursuit of Worship, a youth event that was part of the preparations for the Festival of Hope with Franklin Graham in Madrid, Spain, 30–31 May.

Excitement and anticipation is spreading among churches in Madrid and surrounding cities in central Spain.

For months, more than 850 churches from 15 denominations have joined forces to hold the Festival of Hope (Festival de la Esperanza), a two-day event where Franklin Graham will preach the Good News.

Believers have been praying fervently that God would draw people in their city to find lasting hope in Jesus Christ, the only answer to their searching hearts.

The outreach, to be held at Palacio Vistalegre, will include worship music by Michael W. Smith, Charity Gayle, and a choir ensemble featuring Coro Gospel Living Water and Sing it!

Local pastors have shared with Festival Director Joe Kim that this is an answer to years of prayer.

For these congregations, to “witness churches coming together in unity under the Festival’s banner offers a lasting hope for their future, one that endures well beyond the event itself,” Kim said.

Local pastors from Madrid gathered in April to pray for many in their city to come to faith in Jesus Christ.

In the months leading up to the event, churches have been hosting the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s Christian Life and Witness Course (CLWC). The classes help believers grow deeper in their faith and learn practical ways they can share it with others.

When pastor Paco Sánchez from Iglesia Cuadrangular El Camino participated in one of the first training sessions, he was moved by how useful it would be for other believers. He signed up to become a trainer himself and has since led the course in 22 churches. In all of them, he has seen the joy and enthusiasm for evangelism spreading among Christians.

“I believe it is a unique opportunity to equip churches with simple but effective methods for personal evangelism,” he said. “Praying for someone, then sharing the message of salvation with that person through personal testimony, inviting them to the Festival and to the church, and discipling that new believer—it couldn’t be any simpler.”

Sánchez has seen how people are applying this straight-forward method, sharing their own testimonies of what Jesus has done in their lives, and inviting people to church and to the two-night event.

“Now I can’t wait for the day of the Festival,” he said. Prayerfully, Sánchez continued, “there will be thousands of people who will take the step of surrendering their lives to the Lord and beginning a new life with the Holy Spirit.”

In 2015, Franklin Graham preached in Barcelona, Spain’s second-largest city. In a few weeks, he’ll return to preach in the capital of Madrid.

When Faith Breaks Through

Pastor Oseias Gomes de Lima migrated to Spain from Brazil in 2000 looking for job opportunities. He immediately sought a church in Madrid, but to his surprise, there were very few evangelical congregations around. The one he found had recently closed its doors because of low attendance.

“I said, ‘We’ve got to do something.’ So we planted a new church,” he shared. For 26 years, he has served as lead pastor of Comunidad Evangélica Maranatha and has witnessed the Christian church growing across the city.

Gomes de Lima and his church recently participated in CLWC classes.

“After the training, we decided to have a ‘bring a friend’ service. Our church that averages 130 people in attendance every Sunday saw 30 new people visiting the church that day,” he said. And “15 confessed Jesus as their Saviour!”

The church will soon start a second service to accommodate the growth the Lord has brought.

“We are receiving a harvest even before the event, so I tell my people: ‘Be prepared, because this place is going to be too small,’” he said.

Gomes de Lima’s congregation has faithfully been praying for their loved ones to come to Christ. But they know the fields are ripe for harvest in their entire city—beyond their circles of influence.

He shared about a group in his church that is eager to do more. “They say, ‘We’ve already shared the Gospel with our friends and relatives; now we want to go out into the streets.’”

Gomes de Lima sees a hunger for God in the country that he’s never seen before.

“I firmly believe that Spain’s time has come,” he said. “I believe this Festival is an answer to prayer that will yield a great harvest, and we are filled with anticipation for what God will continue to do.”

Will you join us in prayer for the Festival de la Esperanza in Madrid, 30–31 May? Pray for many to come to the events with an open heart to the Gospel.