Michael Youssef’s recent event in Cairo, Egypt, drew more than 17,000 people despite mounting concerns about unrest in the Middle East.
Youssef told The Christian Post that the November event had been planned for about 6,000 people. Instead, more than 17,000 attended, and some 7,850 put their faith in Jesus.
“We saw really what God has done,” Youssef, who also serves as executive president of Leading the Way, said.
“It was so massive in terms of a Christian gathering that nobody can take credit. They did not come to hear me; they did not come because of this or that. They came because of hunger … there were masses of people at midnight who did not want to leave; they just stayed, singing and praying. There is such a presence of the Holy Spirit as we have never experienced before. We know this is a God thing; it was the Holy Spirit who did the work.”
Video of event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsJpQG0pCQU
He said local churches “doubled” attendance after the event and hopes to continue that trend.
Youssef was born in Egypt and raised in Lebanon.
“I say the Gospel is the Gospel,” he said. “And when the core of the Gospel is preached and not the fluff, which you know some people, of course, like to do … we are all sinners. Christ came from Heaven to save repentant sinners and forgive our sins; we are all burdened with sin. And that is really a simple message … when I'm on the road doing evangelistic outreaches like this, I go straight into the core of the Gospel.”
Youseff, 75, is the Church of the Apostles pastor in Atlanta, Georgia. He recently released a book, How to Read the Bible (as If Your Life Depends on It).
‘I said, 'No wonder we're in the mess we're in.' People don't know what's in the Scripture. … I’ve wanted to write this book for 50 years. It's taken me that long to show how the Bible is not just a bunch of stories. It is totally connected from Genesis to Revelation. There is one theme.
My prayer, my hope, is, as people read it, it ignites a love for the Word of God. [I don’t want them] to read it in place of the Bible, but they'll fall in love with the Bible all over again and start reading it, believing it, and obeying it. And I think if that happens, we will have a revival.”
Video Courtesy: Leading the Way via YouTube
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
