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“If it hadn’t been for these meetings, someone like me—who had been away from God, who was depressed, who thought they were all alone, who thought there wasn’t a lot to live for, who thought suicidal thoughts—might not be here today. What you’ve done is taken somebody who felt really broken, and given me a sense of belonging, of hope...”

Those are the words of Anne, who attended Revelation Speaks Peace in Portland from Feb. 1 - March 1, 2008. This month-long evangelistic series was a joint effort between It Is Written and the Oregon Conference.

Although the Pacific Northwest is known for having an overall lower rate of church attendance, people from surrounding areas—and even places hours away—packed the Oregon Convention Center to listen as Pastor Shawn Boonstra opened the Bible. Throughout the month, hundreds of attendees made a decision to follow Christ and were baptized.

Beginnings

The project began more than two years ago in a most remarkable way. After spending a day in prayer, the It Is Written team concluded that Portland would be the perfect choice for the ministry’s next citywide focus. When the team arrived in the office later that day, an invitation from the Oregon Conference was waiting, even though both sides had not yet spoken about the idea.

“This was a prayed-for partnership,” said Pastor Boonstra. “We were in awe when we discovered that both teams had been on their knees—seeking God’s direction—at the same time!”

Conference officials, local pastors and It Is Written staff members then began extensive planning for the event. However, the pre-work was not limited to church employees—church members really got into the action and, according to Joe Cirigliano, It Is Written’s evangelism coordinator, that was one of the most exciting aspects of the preparation.

“After Pastor Boonstra spoke at the last camp meeting, we held a training session in the afternoon,” said Cirigliano. “When we asked people to sign up to become Bible instructors, so many people swarmed the booth that someone exclaimed ‘This is like a sale at Macy’s!’”

Don Livesay, president of the Oregon Conference, was incredibly supportive in getting laypeople involved in this effort, and stressed an evangelistic “commission culture.”

“Commission culture refers to a movement of people who have the Gospel Commission at the core of their existence,” said Livesay. “It is a way of life…the constant sharing of joy in Jesus with others.”

Some of the conference initiatives used to support this commission culture plan were a God’s Prayer Force program, a Prayer Warriors seminar and ShareHim rallies around the state. Additional events held before the series included a citywide day of prayer and fasting, an archeology school and a health expo. Bible Worker Boot Camps were also a major component of this process.

Opening Night

Excitement was in the air on opening night, Feb. 1. Volunteers served in various functions—welcoming people as they entered the convention center doors, assisting at the registration tables, ushering kids to the children’s program, and offering radio headsets for the various live translations.

There were some traffic challenges on that first night. The most significant obstacle occurred as people were making their way to the convention center. In a freak accident, the MAX (Portland’s light rail transportation system) crashed into a bus. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but it brought public transportation to a halt. This caused a major traffic backup and meeting attendees who’d been riding the MAX were left stranded. Although many of these people were more than two miles away, they walked in the pouring rain because they didn’t want to miss the presentation!

Despite the traffic issues, by the time the sermon began, all 2,300 seats were taken. In fact, a number of volunteers gave up their seats to visitors and gladly stood along the back wall.

The crowd seemed incredibly receptive—often clapping and nodding as Pastor Boonstra made certain points.

Upon learning that the meetings would last the whole month, one couple exclaimed to an usher, “We’re going to have to clear our entire schedule, because we don’t want to miss a thing!” In addition, one family canceled a longstanding vacation in order to attend, and another decided to stay in a hotel room in Portland each weekend so they wouldn’t have to drive too far.

A Month of Hope

Attendance held strong throughout the event, including evenings when the meetings competed with Trail Blazers basketball games and the Super Bowl! On weeknights, attendance averaged 1,500 - 1,800 people per night, and on the weekends, the room was packed with 2,300.

The meetings weren’t just available in English. They were also translated into Spanish, Russian and Romanian, as well as being provided in sign language. Said Roger Hernandez, Hispanic coordinator for the conference, “Each night, we probably had 300-400 people listen to Robert Costa’s Spanish translation. It was wonderful for the eight local Hispanic churches to come together like this.”

So many stories came out of this series that it is impossible to include all of them in this article. Here are just a few:

From Garden Show to the Gospel

Throughout the series, many other events were taking place in various parts of the convention center, such as a garden show. One night, a garden show worker walked by and saw that the Revelation Speaks Peace program had just started. He poked his head in the door and noticed the slides up on the screen. He asked one of the volunteers, “Oh, is this a church program?”

The volunteer explained that it was a religious event. The man then asked, “Is it free to the public? Can I come in?”

The volunteer said “Yes!” and helped the man find a seat. He stayed for the entire meeting and later said, “I’ve never seen the Bible like this…it’s so interesting. What do I have to do to be able to come back?”

The volunteer registered him, and the man said he’d be back for the next meeting. As he walked away, he exclaimed, “This is awesome!”

Answered Prayers

Pam had been watching It Is Written on TV and said she liked it immediately because, in her words, “Pastor Boonstra went right to the Bible for everything he was preaching.”

At one point, she had signed up for a free offer, but was surprised when someone actually called and invited her to take some Bible studies with a local pastor. Between the studies and her attendance at the meetings, Pam committed her life to Christ and was baptized the final weekend of the series.

“It was like my prayers were answered—it’s been unbelievable,” she said. “It has changed my life, because I was really looking and searching for something like this.”

An Open Door on the Fourth Try

Anne received a Bible study invitation that was mailed out in preparation for the meetings. She signed up for the lessons, but what she didn’t realize was that the Bible instructors would visit her in person! On three occasions, the Bible study team came to her door and gave her a lesson, but she remained hesitant to let them into her home.

On the third visit, she asked them a “testing question,” and was pleasantly surprised by their answer. The next time they came for a visit, she let them in, and they began to study. As the studies continued, the instructors invited Anne and her family to the meetings, and even volunteered to drive them to the convention center each night. On the final day of the series, Anne and her family were baptized.

After her baptism, Anne exclaimed, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat in the audience and had tears streaming down my face because of this program. And I’ve smiled more in the last month than I have in two years, and all I can say is thank you so much, and thank God for Revelation Speaks Peace!”

Letter from a Teenager

“Thank you so much, Shawn. You have brought me closer to the Lord. You’ve taught me so many things that I don’t think I could fit it all on this piece of paper. You have answered every question I had about God, the Bible and everything. I cannot express how much you have helped me. I have felt more content with life ever since I became close to the Lord. You have touched the life of a teenage girl who used to be afraid to say I was a Christian. Now, nothing makes me happier than to say I have a relationship with God.”

Lives Changed for Eternity

During the last couple weeks of the meetings, church services were held in the convention center at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. A number of people were baptized during these services, as well as in the evening meetings. Many baptisms also took place in local churches. At the time of this writing, hundreds of people have been baptized, and the number will continue to grow over the next few months. We will report the official results in the next issue of It Is Written's magazine, Channels of Inspiration.

"I can’t help but remember how often I’ve been told that evangelism in the Pacific Northwest is impossible. I’ve heard it said that this area is postmodern and secular and does not respond to simple Bible preaching,” said Pastor Boonstra. “All that has changed now, because God has moved in an unusual and incredible way!”

Continuing Outreach

Although the meetings concluded on March 1, that doesn’t mean the outreach has. The Oregon Conference has plans in place to continue studying with and nurturing people who are in the process of making a decision, as well as those who are new church members.

The experience has also been exciting for those involved with this event. Said Livesay, “Our pastors and church members are engaged, and they’re now looking for ways to continue the evangelism process. It’s a powerful thing!”

Please continue to keep Portland in your prayers, as well as It Is Written's upcoming 2009 efforts in Los Angeles!

Photos by Palmer Halvorson, Jeremy Barber and Gary McLain.