Luis Palau Encourages Wake Up Santa Cruz Attendees

by ChristianCruz Staff

Evangelist Luis Palau has a message of encouragement for Santa Cruz County.  Palau spoke for approximately 45 minutes on the morning of Wednesday, July 16 to over 200 attendees of the latest quarterly breakfast meeting hosted by Wake Up Santa Cruz.

Palau last brought his evangelistic team to Santa Cruz in September of 2001 for the wildly successful Santa Cruz Beachfest which saw crowds estimated at 55,000 people come to hear Palau's message of God's love and the life-changing Gospel of Jesus. Palau's evangelistic message in 2001 resulted in hundreds of conversions to Christ.

But on Wednesday, Palau brought a message for the believing community of Santa Cruz County - a message of encouragement to not give up even when widespread community change is not evident.

The evangelist prefaced his message by reading an Old Testament passage and a New Testament passage, both of which touch upon the concept of community transformation:

<scriptures call believers in Santa Cruz County.

  • Santa Cruz Christian Ministries, a non-profit organization which seeks innovative ways to share God's plan of salvation message with a lost world (including distribution of free Bibles and television commercials promoting Christ Jesus as the only way into heaven).

  • Hands Across The Bay Prayer Summit, an effort to bring together the clergy of Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties in October to pray for our communities.


    Palau closed his message by describing his understanding of a six-step process by which a community changes for the good (which, according to him, should be the goal of every true Christian):


    1. There has to be acertain percentage of people in the community who are converted to Christ. We don't know what that percentage is, or should be, but it is our duty as believers to win as many to Christ as we can.

    2. When people are converted, ethical and moral changes occur in their lives. They begin to display integrity in business, faithfulness in marriage, etc.

    3. Family becomes a strong public issue. A call for justice to public officials begins to be voiced by strong families.

    4. Justice begins to permeate the society. If we want peace, we have to have justice, and you can't have justice without the principles of Jesus.

    5. The economy begins to prosper (as a result of more widespread justic, honesty, trust, etc.)

    6. The structures and institutions of society begin to change. Palau noted that, in his study of church history, this type of societal transformation takes at least two generations to be accomplished.


    Palau ended by reiterating his message to not be discouraged because it takes time to see a community changed. "Be faithful - we will see transformation," he declared.

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