MINISTRY REPORT FROM FRESNO.
God moved in a mighty way in Fresno this past week as Luis Palau and the team joined with nearly 300 local churches and non-profit organizations to accomplish one of the largest collaboration efforts the city has ever seen.
After more than 2 years of preparation, planning, and prayer, Fresno CityFest culminated this weekend at Save Mart Center where thousands of people came out to hear some great music and Good News from Luis Palau, his son Andrew, and dozens of musicians and friends.
Musical performances included Grammy-award winning artists Matt Redman, Lecrae, and For King and Country, as well as Lincoln Brewster, LZ7, Marisol Park, Soulfire Revolution, and Break the Barriers. Four-time CrossFit champion Rich Froning also joined in for the weekend activities, helping lead a CrossFit champion on Saturday morning.
In the week leading up to the 2-day festival, Luis, Andrew, and the team helped lead several outreaches throughout the Valley, including 17 prison outreaches, a luncheon for women, a gathering for business and civic leaders, a college outreach event, and a mini festival for the Latino community in the city of Reedley.
In total, more than 45,000 people were reached through more than 50 events and more than 3,000 people documented a confession of faith in Jesus Christ. Each decision-maker is now being followed up by the local participating churches.
Also as part of the campaign, Fresno CityServe helped to unify multiple service agency and gather thousands of individuals to serve the valley through more than 1,100 service projects and 145,000 volunteer hours.
Fresno CityFest also hosted an Extend the Impact Conference including more than 35 partner evangelists and their spouses from 7 states. There were also delegates from a handful of cities who came out to observe the festival as they consider inviting the Palau Association to help with similar citywide campaigns.
Our heart is that the unity established through Fresno CityFest continues for years to come, encouraging more citywide outreach efforts and ongoing service initiatives throughout the valley.
