Thousands of people made decisions to follow Jesus Christ at a massive evangelistic rally held recently in Portland, Oregon.
More than 35,000 people attended the PDX Crusade, which was organized by Athey Creek Church, and the organizers report that more than 3,200 responded by saying “yes” to the good news of God’s offer of salvation and new life in Him.
“PDX Crusade 2025 was a life-changing weekend. So many met Jesus, and His name was magnified across our city,” the church announced in a post.
These types of outreaches are so uncommon in Portland that KLOVE reports this was the first such “crusade” event in the city in more than 25 years. But the response from attendees indicates a spiritual hunger for God has been building up for years throughout “Rose City” and the surrounding areas.
The outreach was held at the Moda Center on August 2-3, and huge crowds came each night to see top Christian musicians like Chris Tomlin, Zach Williams, Cain, Taya, Anne Wilson, and Kari Jobe & Cody Carnes.
As Pastor Brett Meador shared the gospel during the high point of each night, a huge red, yellow, and white graphic was displayed behind him reading, “Out of Darkness into the Light.”
He shared with the crowd, “We live in a town where darkness is all around us… If you live here, you feel it – how desperately people need to believe in Jesus that they may find hope. We need to see our town, our city and our whole country come out of the darkness and into the light.”
He went on to preach from scripture that, “Anyone who confess with their mouth and believes in their heart on the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us that you’ll be saved. Your sins are forgiven. Doesn’t mean that your life’s gonna be perfect or rosy, but it means that you’re gonna have that peace that only comes through Christ.”
After several thousand people streamed to the front, he led them in the following prayer that anyone can pray:
“Dear Father in Heaven, I admit that I’m a sinner. I want to come out of the darkness and into Your light. So I believe in Your Son Jesus Christ. I believe that He died on the cross for my sins, that He rose up from the grave, and that I’m forgiven. Help me to walk with You. Thank You for saving me, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.”
“We’re overwhelmed by God’s goodness and the number of people who gave their lives to Christ. Thank you for being part of what the Lord is doing in our city!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. – 2 Corinthians 5:17
Parents are reporting the powerful impact the event had on their kids. One mom wrote on Instagram, “All the glory to King Jesus! My 7 year old son was one of the people who went down and ‘gave his heart and life to the Lord’ his words and on his own volition. Eternally grateful”
The PDX Crusade posted a response from one young woman who declared, “i got saved tonight and it was the best choice i have ever made!” Her mother replied directly to the post, saying, “That’s my girl! Love you Maemae! Mom is so proud of the young woman you are becoming!”
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The church and its outreach team were well-prepared for the gospel response, reportedly giving out Bibles to each person who made a commitment to follow Jesus. One woman who served on the response team explained on social media, “All the people who came forward to accept Christ were asked to fill out a questionnaire to help them plug into a church that is local to them.”
She says that while the official stats so far indicate 3,200 salvations, there’s one reason why the number might actually be higher.
“I was on the floor for all three services and most of the people I talked and prayed for filled it out (the questionnaire) but there were some that weren’t comfortable with that, so the number of new believers might be a little higher,” she said.
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