Colossians 1:6 - “All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.”

The response to our recent evangelistic campaigns in Brazil – has been unprecedented. For us, this is a special moment, a final great harvest before the Lord returns. The photos here tell the story well.

The Apostle Paul wrote that Jesus Christ gave himself “to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:14)   The Lord designed His project of salvation to produce a people who belong to Him – a Body, the faithful church (“eager to do what is good”). Our approach to evangelism reflects this understanding of salvation – that the Lord wants to save people, but he also wants the saved people to be “a people,” a Body.

The evangelistic efforts of Maranatha churches generally fall into two categories: the ongoing efforts of each local church to reach their surrounding community, and special evangelistic events (often with tens of thousands in attendance) hosted by the churches in a geographical region working together.

In the larger evangelistic events or campaigns, some have had over 100,000 in attendance. We do not usually advertise such events, and we never announce who will be preaching beforehand (there is no value in elevating a preacher). For us, an ideal meeting has more visitors than church members, and the two events featured here are examples where we had this result. We never ask for money or take offerings at such events. The purpose of the event is to reach outsiders, and we have something to give them, not take from them.

Legions of volunteers from our churches in the region handle all the planning, setup, sound, and cleanup afterward. Almost all the visitors have been invited by a member of the church (sometimes a single member will bring dozens to the event), which means the visitor has a contact already who can bring them to the local church in the days following the event.

Our goal is to get every visitor integrated into our local churches in that area so they can grow and develop spiritually. We are less concerned about the numbers who come than about the numbers who stay, who become committed servants in the local church. Evangelism must be an activity of the Body.