Over 30,000 people gathered to attend the two-day Festival of Hope, organised by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), at the Chizhovka Arena in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.
Organisers reported that it was the largest evangelical outreach event ever held in Belarus, where Christians represent less than 2% of the population, and many churches have been closed by the government.
“What is happening now is the act of God, we are amazed at what God is doing here”, said Vasily Gherasimciuc, director of the Festival.
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The festival reminded Gherasimciuc of over 30 years ago, “just after the breakup of the Soviet Union”, when “people were hungry for the Gospel message”.
“The last 15 years, there was nothing massive, no mass evangelistic event in Belarus. This is an event that stirred Christians” , he added.
Around 700 evangelical churches from across Belarus helped with the organisation of the event, “the first nationally coordinated evangelical event of its kind in the country”, they pointed out.
A 1,300-member choir of believers from 43 Belarusian cities and villages also took part in the event.
According to the organisers, 2,000 Belarusians responded to the Gospel invitation over the two-night event. All of them received a Bible and were put in contact with a local church that will disciple them.
Franklin Graham, evangelist and CEO of BGEA, met with Aleksandr Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, the day before the festival.
Graham thanked him for “allowing the evangelical churches in this country to come together to hold an evangelistic event in the capital. Nothing has been done like this in Belarus in modern history”.
Meanwhile, Lukashenko thanked Graham for “taking the time, despite such a great distance, to come to us and discuss not only our interfaith dialogue but also interstate relations”.
The Belarusian president grew up in the Soviet Union, which “was officially an atheist country, but unofficially, everyone prayed”, he told Graham.
“I was a party secretary working in agriculture, and half of the people in the collective farm where I worked were Protestants. I can tell you, they are exceptionally kind and incredibly hardworking people. I have a deep understanding of and appreciation for your faith”, he added.
Lukashenko also thanked Graham for his support to Belarusians, because, despite sanctions, two-thirds of humanitarian aid received in the country last year came from the United States, including from Samaritan’s Purse, where Graham serves as president and CEO.
Published in: Evangelical Focus – europe
– Over 30,000 gathered at the Festival of Hope in Belarus