USA (MNN) – Last weekend in the United States, more than 170,000 people participated in CityFest West Michigan. This event brought together 435 local Churches and organizations, hundreds of volunteers, well-known Christian artists, and believers to worship and learn about Jesus.
CityFest West Michigan
The event featured artists like TobyMac and Mandisa and evangelists like Luis and Andrew Palau.
Andrew Palau of the Luis Palau Association shares that this event was a long time in the making.
“We’ve been working with [Churches and organizations] for about two years of planning and preparation.”
The preparation, however, was well worth it.
Bultema Group reported that 15,000 people attended the event and 64,000 people viewed the event online on the first day. The second day saw an increase in participation as 18,000 people attended and 77,000 people joined in online.
“The great thing about the festival here in Grand Rapids and West Michigan is that we have seen so many people coming from across geographic, denominational, and sort of ethnic lines,” Palau says.
Yet, the greatest outcome of the event was that 1,833 people gave their lives to Christ.
What’s Next?
Now that CityFest is over, however, questions linger in its place: what happens next? And, how do people stay motivated to continue growing in their faith and sharing about Christ with others?
“This is all about relationships,” Palau says. “You know it’s all about friends bringing friends, and risking relationship, and being a fool for Christ, if you will, to say if not now, when will I use the tools God has put into my hands to introduce people to Jesus Christ?”
Palau says the work of discipleship never ceases.
“The enemy always prowls around like a lion looking for someone to destroy, to disunify us and case separation between us, but God has brought us together for the purpose of not focusing on ourselves as much as on Him and that’s unifying.”
Palau adds that by focusing on the cross, the Bible, and its principles, believers are naturally drawn together.
However, what does it mean for relationships with nonbelievers?
The first step of discipleship, he says is knowing exactly how to disciple someone who is not saved.
“We desire to see the lost know God as we have experienced Him and know Him and He’s transformed us. [In 1 John 4], he says no one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, His love is made complete in us.”
(Photo by Edward Cisneros on Unsplash)
Palau encourages that persevering in faith and discipleship and loving nonbelievers are key to making God’s love known.
“Doing hard things, stepping out of your comfort zones, meeting with people, saying ‘yes’ to things that are related to unity… even when these catalytic moments are gone, be personally dedicated to doing something in your life, related to meeting new people, loving them, getting to know them.”
Pray for those who participated in CityFest to stay strong in their faith walk and their relationship with God and others. Pray they will be motivated to sharing the Truth with those around them.
