3 Lessons Learned from Luis Palau’s Visit to NYC

I’m delighted to say that ten years after I had the honor of serving at the Billy Graham Crusade in Flushing, New York in June 2005, I had the honor of serving as a counselor at Luis Palau’s festival in Central Park on July 11th!

What made last Saturday’s festival even more special is that I have been able to meet Luis Palau twice! The first time was a few years ago. He shared that he had always dreamed of doing a festival in New York City and that a few of the local Spanish churches had invited him to come. I encouraged him to come! After meeting him that first time, I had a feeling I would see him again.

Imagine how excited I was when I got to meet Luis Palau a second time just this past June at a lovely event he hosted at Chelsea Piers! I even got to give him a copy of my book Waiting on God Well! I also told him I would be counseling at his upcoming event.

In the span of one week (July 6 -11), Luis Palau had events in legendary NYC sites including Radio City Music Hall, Times Square, and finally the Great Lawn in Central Park. This really felt like my missions trip for this summer! The Gospel was proclaimed right here in my own backyard. Glory!

So I’d like to share a few lessons I learned from Luis Palau’s visit:

Beautiful Things Happen When You Wait on God! For more than twenty years, Luis Palau dreamed of hosting a festival in New York City. Over the years he’s traveled the world, but that desire was still inside of him. It was wonderful to witness God granting this desire of his heart and how God honored him. His picture was in ads all throughout the city. His event in Times Square was televised on many of the surrounding giant screens!

Modern Day Calebs Exist! I was surprised to hear that Luis Palau is 80!  He could be doing plenty of other things at his age, but he is still faithful to the call God placed on his life. At 80, he took on the Big Apple. He reminds me of Caleb from the Bible who at 85 was saying that he wanted to take on the mountainous land that God had promised him through Moses 45 years earlier (Joshua 14:6-14). I guess there really is no retiring from God’s work.

The Gospel can Still be Preached Outdoors in NYC. I loved hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ being boldly, yet kindly preached out in the open in Manhattan! At a time when some are shying away from talking about salvation through Jesus, Luis Palau and his son, Andrew, are openly proclaiming the Word. And one of the highlights of Saturday’s festival was when we all got to pray for Mayor Bill de Blasio, who made a special appearance at the event. God is at work in New York!

I could say much more, but I’ll stop for now. I pray the short video greeting below blesses you. I shot it right in Central Park. I’m so thankful that I got to experience a Luis Palau festival in person and in my hometown! Let’s see where the Lord leads him next!

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