The Stirrings of Revival in Paraguay

Aimee Herd : Dec 4, 2012
Carolina Martinez-CBN, Charisma News

"Never in the history of our country have we had a president who attended evangelical services, and now we have. We could never get into state institutions. Today we can, freely, with the support from the secretary of education and culture. To me, these are all indicators of revival."

(Paraguay, South America)—Deep in the South American country of Paraguay, stirrings have been noticed. . . . Not felt by seismic recording devices, but with the heart and by faith.

For 12 years now, an ever-increasing group of Christians spanning all denominations have been taking part in a 24-hour prayer marathon.

Thousands of Believers from 85 different locations around Paraguay journey every Sunday to a hill called Lambare—meeting there to pray for their country. (Photo: Reuters/Rene Gonzalez)

One of those faithful—a church-goer named Hugo Sanz—noted, “Personal contact, communion, a new sense of friendship with our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, sharing His Word . . . I have no doubt that this will produce a national revival that will be a blessing for all."

Pastor Walter Neufeld noted some of the indicators that God is beginning to answer the cry of His Church in Paraguay. Among other things (including reports of miraculous healings), this past summer the country’s President Federico Franco attended an evangelical thanksgiving and worship service with other government leaders, according to a Charisma News report.

"There have been big changes because if you go back seven years ago, in the statistics, Paraguay had 2 to 3 percent evangelical Christians, similar to Cuba or Uruguay," Neufeld said.

"Never in the history of our country have we had a president who attended evangelical services, and now we have," he continued. "We could never get into state institutions. Today we can, freely, with the support from the secretary of education and culture. To me, these are all indicators of revival."

Leader of one of the largest evangelical churches in Paraguay, Pastor Emilio Abreu remarked that the country’s youth will be an integral part of what God is doing there.

"We believe there will be a great empowering of the lives of young people because of the strength they have, the passion they have," said Abreu. "The church has never understood them. They haven't given a platform for the youth—in the arts, culture, music, painting, theater, movies."

"And this will be a time when we'll have people with a vision to do all of this, to turn our young people loose, open their minds, anoint and empower them to go and conquer the nation."