At a time when the world is busy preparing for the holidays, Christian evangelist Franklin Graham held a gospel festival in Cambodia where more than 23,000 attended and 1,396 surrendered their lives to Christ.
The two-day Franklin Graham Festival was held in a country with a population of 98 percent Buddhist people. “Did you know that you have a soul?” Graham asked the crowd. “One day you will die, but your soul continues to live. Your soul will live in the presence of God, or it will be separated from God. The decision you make tonight will decide where your soul will spend eternity.”
The “Love Phnom Penh Festival with Franklin Graham” was held Dec. 7-8 in a country where Christianity was almost eliminated during the rule of Khmer Rouge, which in the 1970s tried to eliminate religion and develop a “master race” under the leadership of Pol Pot. This lead to the killing of 2 million people with only 200 Christians alive there, the genocide was the inspiration behind the film ‘The Killing Fields.’
The Festival had a major impact on the people and is said to be the largest Christian outreach ever in the country, with 23,700 attending, according to local Christian authorities.
“The Holy Spirit has touched our city and entire land. We are thankful that people heard the Gospel that Jesus is the Truth, Way and Life,” said Sin Somnang, pastor of Fellowship Church of Pochentong and the Festival’s general chairman. “This will be a blessing for our country and our spiritual legacy to be remembered for the next generation through the Festival.”
Among those who gave their life to Jesus, 59-year-old Chhimreth made that decision as she said she had heard of Jesus before, but had not made Him Lord of her life. “I feel very happy and joyful,” Chhimreth said through a translator.
“We pray this [Festival] will open the door for more of the Lord’s work in the future,” Graham said. It is so important to reach out to the lost and suffering in countries like these with large non-Christian populations, let us use this blessed time of Christmas to take the gospel to our neighborhood and colleagues who have never heard of Jesus Christ and win them for the kingdom.