Luis Palau Jr. (November 27, 1934 – March 11, 2021) was an Argentine-American international Christian evangelist. He was born in Argentina but moved to Portland, Oregon, in his mid-twenties to enroll in a graduate program in Biblical studies.

Palau had a long and close relationship with evangelist Billy Graham, and was characterized by many as Graham's successor. "One of the world’s leading evangelical Christian figures," he was known for his strong appeal to young people, and for his efforts to reach out to secular leaders to address issues like homelessness.

In 2007, Palau was estimated to have shared the message of Jesus Christ with 25 million people in 70 nations. Palau's ministry employs 70 people in their headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, and another 25 around the world which include offices in Buenos Aires, Argentina and London. on Facebook and YouTube that he had stage-four lung cancer; he died in March 2021.

Early life

Luis Palau Jr. was born November 27, 1934, in Maschwitz, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has five younger sisters and one brother. Within a matter of years after his father's death, because of poor financial management by relatives, Palau, his siblings, and his widowed mother were left nearly destitute. Palau was forced to leave his education at a British-run boarding school and began working as the sole provider for the family at a bank in Córdoba, Argentina.

Palau says that he was born again at the age of 12, devoting his life to Christ. He first heard Billy Graham on a radio broadcast from Portland, Oregon, while still living in Argentina in 1950, and drew inspiration from him. He later worked for Graham as a Spanish translator and as an evangelist. In 1970, Graham contributed the seed money for Palau to start his own ministry, which he modeled after Graham's.

Since then, Palau held many large-scale evangelistic festivals and gatherings around the world.

Settling in the US

Palau arrived in Portland in 1960 to attend a graduate program at Multnomah Bible College, His travel and tuition was paid by U.S. benefactors. They would go on to have four children: Kevin, Keith, Andrew, and Stephen Palau. He became a U.S. citizen in 1962. The Palaus spent the next eight years serving as missionaries in Mexico and Colombia, before returning to Oregon. Palau worked to build up his ministry in Oregon through the 1970s.

In 1975, Palau shared the Bible Expositor post at Eurofest '75 with Bishop Festo Kivengere. Eurofest '75 was co-sponsored by the Billy Graham organisation and was held in Brussels, Belgium, at the Palais du Centenaire and the Heysel Stadium from July 24 until August 2, 1975. In October 1978, the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association, based in Beaverton, was incorporated. and his ministry's annual budget was estimated at $11 million.

He launched a book venture after holding a conversation with a former government Chinese official during his trip to Beijing; Palau launched a book venture based on the transcribed work. The book, now published by Zondervan, is entitled A Friendly Dialogue Between An Atheist and a Christian.

Palau made a point of staying out of politics, refusing to endorse ballot measures or candidates. Recently he has partnered with secular leaders as well. Portland Mayor Vera Katz did not attend his first big Portland event in 1999,

Palau got in touch with fellow evangelicals, and cooperated with Portland Commissioner Erik Sten, Potter, Beaverton Mayor Rob Drake, and Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis in 2008 in planning his August 22–23 festival, which focused on volunteerism in support of the homeless. Palau's last Portland event drew about 140,000 people over two days. Palau addressed 500 Christian pastors in March 2008, joined by Portland City Commissioner Sam Adams, in the buildup to the August event. He calls the effort the "Season of Service".

In 2013, Palau was residing in Cedar Mill, but in late 2018 was residing in nearby Bethany, another unincorporated area also north of Beaverton and immediately west of Cedar Mill. A November 2018 article in the Beaverton Valley Times referred to the Cedar Mill Bible Church as Palau's "home base". This was a year-long effort that involved over 1,700 churches.

Works

Palau wrote numerous books including:

  • Where Is God When Bad Things Happen?
  • Calling America and the Nations to Christ
  • God is Relevant
  • High Definition Life
  • A Friendly Dialogue between an Atheist and a Christian

Movie

A film entitled Palau the Movie was released in 2019. It tells the story of Palau's life and ministry. Starring Gastón Pauls and Alexia Moyano, the film is in color and is 117 minutes long.

References

  • PALAU Luis International Who's Who. accessed September 1, 2006.
  • Luis Palau Evangelistic Association web site