Former Communist Romania Welcomes Andrew Palau

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Michelle A. Vu
Christian Post Reporter
Tue, Jun. 03 2008 03:24 PM ET

American evangelist Andrew Palau staged one of the largest-ever Christian outreaches in Eastern Europe last week when he shared the Gospel message with more than 14,500 people in Romania.

The massive campaign event stretched 10 days and included activities ranging from small gatherings in schools, churches, prisons and senior centers to a huge outdoor concert near the People’s Palace – the largest and most expensive civilian administration building in the world.

It ended with the Bucharest Festival with Andrew Palau, May 31 to June 1, which included extreme sports demos, activities for kids and families, and concerts that featured music ranging from classical to hip-hop.

More than 1,750 documented decisions for Christ were collected by week’s end, according to the Luis Palau Association.

"When my dad came here in 1990, the people were just emerging from the tyranny of the communist regime and hungry for the Good News of God's love," recalled Andrew Palau, in a statement.

His father, Luis Palau, was the first person to openly share the Gospel in a post-Iron Curtain Romania.

"This week, we were blessed to meet face-to-face the results of that harvest – people who came to faith through Luis and have since made incredible contributions to the Kingdom," said the younger Palau.

Many of the hundreds of volunteers, counselors and leaders at the Bucharest Festival had first come to faith through Luis Palau’s campaign nearly 20 years ago, according to the Association.

Romania is a nominally Christian nation and out of its capital city Bucharest’s 3 million people, there is only a 0.5 percent evangelical Christian population.

Andrew Palau will head back to the United States this week and next host “BeachFest with Andrew Palau” in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on June 13-14.

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