A move of the Holy Spirit took place in Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina, over the weekend, as nearly 75,000 heard the Gospel and more than 9,000 people made decisions for Christ during a two-night outreach hosted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).
Evangelist Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the BGEA, shared about the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ before thousands during the Esperanza Buenos Aires Festival at Vélez Stadium.
“God loves you. He made you and cares for you and has a plan for your life,” he shared. “He wants to forgive you, but you have to come to His Son, Jesus Christ, in repentance and faith.”
Graham came to Buenos Aires at the invitation of local churches. Nearly 2,500 evangelical churches partnered with the ministry to bring people from every corner of the city. As a result, thousands of people were changed.
“I was blown away and surprised by the number of people who came forward. It’s incredible to see so many lives being changed at one moment here in this stadium. It’s beyond words,” said Ale Nüesch, the church coordinator for Esperanza Buenos Aires.
“This is not common—we’re not used to seeing things like what just happened. It’s a miracle from heaven, and we thank God for each and every person whose life was transformed by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior,” Nüesch added.
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Esperanza Buenos Aires was free, and all were invited to attend. The event was so packed on the second night that thousands lined the streets to hear a message from Graham and live music from Rescate, a local Argentinian Christian band, Redimi2, a Latin Grammy-nominated rapper, as well as award-winning musician Michael W. Smith and Charity Gayle.
On Friday night, more than 30,000 people crowded into the stadium despite the rain, and a 30-year-old woman named Adriana said her life changed after hearing Rev. Graham preach.
“He spoke about sins and that really touched me. The fact that he was willing to tell all people (about sin), from the stage, in front of so many people—I know that impacted all the people here, not just me. God is calling me back. God spoke to me a lot about my sins and it really got to my heart. This event renewed my faith. I go home very blessed and encouraged to follow Christ.”
Graham shared a message based on the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1–10 with festival-goers on Saturday.
Valentino, one of the nearly 43,000 people who came that night, told BGEA, “I know I’m here for a reason. God called me to Him, here today. I felt His love, I felt joy. Today, I believe He is the way, the truth, and the life. I want to start following God, and I want to bring my family too because they don’t walk with Him.”
A man named Sergio also said the message has changed his life.
“Now, as I leave this event,” he said, “that heavy backpack I had always carried, I no longer feel it. Now I have peace of mind.”
Graham took to social media to celebrate all that God has done in Argentina.
“What a great night here in Buenos Aires,” he wrote. “We give God the glory for the hundreds of people who came forward at the invitation to repent of their sins and accept God’s gift of salvation by putting their trust in Jesus Christ!”
