Evangelist Luis Palau Awarded Prestigious Esperanza Spirit Award at National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C.
WASHINGTON, June 15, 2018 /
Christian Newswire/ -- Evangelist Luis Palau was honored with the prestigious 2018 Esperanza Spirit Award on Thursday, June 14, at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C.
Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Conde-Frazier, who presented the award, said this of Palau: "For nearly 60 years, one of God's faithful servants has traveled the globe, bringing the life-saving message of the Gospel to millions of souls through evangelism events and media. His legacy of faithfulness has made an impact on the kingdom of God that is far beyond measure."
Guest speakers at the Prayer Breakfast included Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Senator Chuck Schumer, Senator Tim Scott, and Secretary Ben Carson.
Palau received a standing ovation from the nearly 600 Latino leaders. Diagnosed in January with stage IV lung cancer, Palau was unable to attend the event and sent his son Kevin Palau, now president of the Luis Palau Association, to accept the award on his behalf.
As part of the award ceremony, attendees saw a sneak preview of "Palau the Movie," an upcoming film on Palau's life. The highly anticipated film is set to be released in the United States, Latin America, and Spain in October. Shot in Argentina, the movie will recount Palau's early years as he lost his father, committed his life to Christ, and began his worldwide ministry.
"It's quite surreal watching someone take on your persona and story," Palau said recently. "Although we weren't pursuing this project -- it was the farthest thing from my mind, actually -- we feel honored by the friends who came up with this project and have done the hard work to produce it. I pray that it will honor the Lord and clearly share the Good News."
This year, Palau celebrates 66 years of ministry, having started in 1952 at the age of 18 with a seven-minute daily radio program at a local radio station in Argentina. Today, in addition to Palau's radio outreach, his evangelistic festivals have produced massive audiences in cities around the world. His ministry also includes a global network of hundreds of evangelists focused on collaboration, fellowship, training, and resourcing. Palau also recently launched a new endeavor known as City Gospel Movements with a vision to celebrate and accelerate the work of the Church around the world by inspiring leaders to keep evangelism as a central focus in their outreach efforts and coaching them in proven models for city transformation.
About Luis Palau: Luis Palau and his ministry have shared the Good News of Jesus Christ with tens of millions of people through evangelistic events and media over the past six decades. He has spoken in 75 countries with more than one million registered decisions for Jesus Christ. He has authored close to 50 books, contributed articles on issues of faith to countless publications, and counseled business leaders, political leaders, and heads of state around the world. To learn more, visit www.palau.org.
