(San Diego, CA – 9/11/2010) San Diego’s sunny skies were filled with flying motorcycles, live music, and words of hope and inspiration through the Good News of Jesus Christ on September 11 at San Diego CityFest with Luis Palau. The free, family-friendly festival drew an estimated 50,000+ to Mission Bay Park.
On a picture-perfect Saturday declared “San Diego CityFest with Luis Palau Day” by Mayor Jerry Sanders, throngs of festival-goers from throughout Southern California and northern Mexico converged on the event. “There was a great joy in the festival,” said the world evangelist and author. “So many churches worked so hard to make this happen.”
Top musical artists, world-class action sports, and a family fun zone entertained the crowd throughout the day. CityFest represented a day of celebration for the Season of Service, a comprehensive outreach that launched in March and drew more than 50,000 volunteers from the faith community in acts of service to the needs of the region.
With a particular focus on homelessness, hunger, mentoring, schools, military families and existing programs, Season of Service volunteers provided an estimated 201,000 hours of labor at more than 340 projects. An additional 1,500 served in the preparation and presentation of the festival.
The festival itself was a nonstop celebration of music, action sports and family fun. Some of the top names in contemporary Christian music performed, including Newsboys, Kirk Franklin, Phil Wickham, and Latin musicians Marisol and Tercer Cielo. The Livin It action sports demos featured the Action Sports Outreach BMX riders, the King of Kings skateboard team, and the Riders 4 Christ freestyle motocross team. Ventriloquist Mark Thompson and VeggieTales superstars Bob and Larry led rousing presentations from the children’s stage.
Palau preached the Good News Gospel of Jesus Christ in Spanish and English. In two separate messages he shared themes including the uncertainty and fragility of human life. The relevance of 9/11 was addressed throughout the day in special prayers and a compelling presentation of the colors by servicemen and women based in the San Diego area. Hundreds of hands were raised across the massive crowd as Palau extended his straightforward invitation to repent and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and begin a life of obedient faith. Several hundred “friends of the festival” had been trained to counsel new believers as they begin their Christian walk. More than 450 participating local churches will welcome them into their congregations.
“The unity among the Christians and the cheer from those who participated were such blessings,” said Palau. “It was an honor to share this festival with the people of San Diego.”
Palau’s son Andrew also shared a message of hope and redemption. Himself a global evangelist, the younger Palau and his family recently survived a plane crash in Jamaica that brought new urgency to his ministry. In the next few months he will present similar CityFest events in Kampala, Uganda (Africa) and Viña del Mar, Chile (South America). The next Season of Service/CityFest program in the United States is set for March of 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona.
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World evangelist Luis Palau will bring a message of hope and Good News to all of San Diego on Saturday, September 11 at San Diego CityFest with Luis Palau. The Gospel will be presented in both English and Spanish at the festival, an evangelistic celebration of the preceding months-long Season of Service.
“Our team has been working closely with individuals and churches in San Diego for more than two years now,” says Kevin Palau, president of the Luis Palau Association. “It’s been exciting to watch more than 440 churches come together across denominational lines, join with business and civic leaders, and make into reality this massive outreach in the name of Jesus Christ.”
Expanding on a community service component that has long been a part of Palau festivals, CityFest teamed with San Diego-area service agencies and churches under the banner “Season of Service.” It provided volunteers and resources for hundreds of projects in the areas of homelessness, hunger, mentoring, families in need, military, schools, health and wellness, and neighborhood revitalization. By CityFest weekend, more than 35,000 volunteers are expected to have served in 340+ Season of Service projects.
The free, family-friendly festival on September 11 has activities scheduled all day starting at noon. It will showcase top artists in contemporary Christian and gospel music, including Newsboys, Kirk Franklin, Phil Wickham, Dave Lubben, Tercer Cielo, and Marisol. The Livin It® action sports tour will feature pro athletes in BMX, skateboarding, and freestyle motocross. Video superstars Bob and Larry from the VeggieTales® will host a massive Family Fun Zone with entertainment for young ones.
Luis Palau festivals have drawn more than 8.5 million people since 1999 from south Florida to South America. First conceived and produced in Portland in 1999, Palau festival events have since changed the face of contemporary faith celebrations around the world. Recent festivals have attracted massive crowds, including 900,000 in Buenos Aires, Argentina; 250,000 in Houston, and 300,000 in Fort Lauderdale. The 2008 CityFest in Portland drew 180,000+ over two days.
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