Sixty years ago Wednesday, a 12-year-old Luis Palau entered into a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ” and a 72-year old Palau stood next door at the pulpit of Christ Church Lake Forest (CCLF) Sunday morning to tell about it. Palau was guest peaking at CCLF for their Global Ministries Celebration, “from neighborhoods to nations: reaching the world near and far.”
Senior Pastor Mike Woodruff introduced the world evangelist and doctor of theology, highlighting that he has preached the Gospel to more than 1 billion people worldwide and has spoken in person before live audiences to more than 25 million people.
“My life goal was to win as many people to Christ as I could” said the Argentine, in solid accent, when he first put his foot in the door of evangelism. Palau began preaching at 18 years old and over five decades later he was in town preaching in all three CCLF worship services on “Faith in Action.”
He was a gifted storyteller, capturing the crowd with his enthusiasm, charm and comedic technique. With his sport-jacket unbuttoned, Palau paced the stage, dodging the podium, performing impressions and using authoritative hand-gestures in synchronization with the pressing points of his sermon.
“To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some,” recited Palau from I Corinthians 9:22. It is through “innovative evangelism” that Palau seeks to win people to Christ.
The Luis Palau Association hosts free two-day festivals throughout the western hemisphere, known for their huge concerts and skateboarding demos. Contemporary Christian music accompanied with extreme sports may be an unconventional method to spread the Gospel, but it has exploded over the last decade and Palau is determined to reach the “next generation.”
“It’s not for old-timers, it’s for kids,” said Palau. With the same idea in mind, he pioneered Next Generation Alliance, a partnership ministry “to encourage and equip a new generation of evangelists” that specializes in evangelism training and resources through conferences around the globe.
In his clear effort to reach young people, Palau and his son Kevin Palau also launched Livin It, a skate tour directed by Stephen Baldwin. It features extreme sport athletes such as Lance Mountain, Ray Barbee, Jay "Alabamy" Haizlip, and Christian Hosoi, who perform stunts and tell their stories to encourage viewers to live life with a purpose: Christ, and to share it.
Trinity International University (TIU) sophomore Michelle Smith and junior Chad Riley attended CCLF Sunday morning with no idea that Palau was speaking, a story that may be shared by handfuls of TIU students.
“I have heard him a couple times on the radio,” said Smith, but she didn‘t know of Palau otherwise. Smith was encouraged by all the stories told and the lives that Palau has touched, and his message inspired her to focus more on evangelism, even when she‘s lives among peers and students who profess to be believers. “I wholeheartedly think he would be a help to our school.”
Palau currently resides in Portland and listeners can tune into his daily radio program Reaching Your World with Luis Palau, also available on podcast. Lists of upcoming events and more information about festivals and partner ministries are posted at palau.org.
1 comment:
You did it again. WOW! Keep up the good work.
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