Four thousand believers are expected to gather at the Pavilhão Rosa Mota in Porto on Friday evening for the Portuguese Evangelical Alliance’s “Festival of Hope.” The event will feature Will Graham, grandson of Billy Graham, the American pastor known as “God’s Machine Gun.”
“I am excited to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the people of this beautiful city! There, churches unite, are encouraged and expect God to be on a large scale in the region,” the evangelist wrote on his social networks. The event includes a concert featuring Taya Smith and The Afters. Admission is free, but interested religious communities are encouraged to register together.
The closeness of several evangelical pastors to Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil is well known. In Portugal, there are some public leaders who have expressed support for the Argentine Javier Miley, the North American Donald Trump and, here, Chega, who has two evangelical MPs. In the legislative elections, the ADN had three leaders of the evangelical lists. But in its statement, the Evangelical Alliance insists it “retains its strictly non-partisan character.”
The growth of evangelical churches in Portugal has accelerated in recent years with increased immigration, especially from Brazilian citizens, according to the technical director of the study “The Evangelical Church in Portugal Seen Up Close.”
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BILLY GRAHAM “AMERICAN SHEPHERD”
Billy Graham, one of the most influential evangelical pastors of the 20th century, was an advisor to several North American presidents. He golfed with Gerald Ford, vacationed with George W. Bush and advised Richard Nixon.
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His very fast manner of speech at celebrations and conservative rhetoric earned him the nickname “God’s Machine Gun”. A fundamentalist, he pioneered the use of radio, newspapers, television and telephone lines to spread his message.
