On this edition of The Exchange, Kevin Palau, discusses how he is seeking to engage the unreached community of Portland, Oregon with the Gospel.
Kevin Palau is son of Luis Palau and President of the Luis Palau Association, responsible for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with over a billion people around the world.
Luis Palau is known as the Bill Graham of Latin America and organized evangelical “crusades” much like Graham did.
“The unifying of the body of Christ was what really resonated with me, and Dad’s ability to communicate the Gospel.”
The Luis Palau association has now moved from evangelical crusades to more family-friendly, music festival model. Dubbing this model Festival 2.0, the LPA sought to make the festivals into more of an attraction with games, activities, speakers, and live music instead of focusing on one keynote speaker.
The LPA hoped to attract people who would never attend a traditional crusade event with something less intimidating and fun for the whole family.
“We can’t help it we love to talk about Jesus Christ. It’s because our lives have been so transformed by this relationship, that’s what leads us to these acts of loving and serving the community.”
Another reason for the change was a result of a concern that the festivals were “preaching to the choir” too much. In other words, people who were already evangelicals were coming to the festivals and the unreached were not.
The LPA has even partnered with the secular leadership of Portalnd, Oregon, and the strong LGBT community to help serve and minister to the needy in the community. Both sides have made a choice to put aside their differences to help those in need.
“I wouldn’t claim that we are doing it perfectly in Portland but it’s encouraging to see how God is opening doors there.”
