Evangelist Franklin Graham expressed his grief over the passing of a fellow evangelist, asking prayers for the surviving family.
Mr. Luis Palau, an international Christian evangelist, passed away yesterday after his three-year battle with lung cancer. Mr. Graham honored Mr. Palau in his Facebook post, whom he said is his father's close friend.
"Luis was a passionate evangelist who faithfully preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ-His birth, His sacrificial death on the cross, His burial, and His resurrection. Millions have heard this truth, and untold men and women have trusted Christ, as a result of Luis Palau's ministry. I thank God for his life and the example he set. Luis was a close friend of my father Billy Graham's throughout the years, and he was my friend as well," Mr. Graham stated.
He further said that Mr. Palau's "voice" in evangelism will be "missed."
"His voice will be greatly missed, but his life should inspire each of us to focus even more intensely on warning people of the consequences of dying without repenting of their sins and turning to Christ in faith," he said.
Mr. Graham concluded urging his followers to pray for Mr. Palau's family.
"Please join me in lifting his family up in prayer during this time."
Mr. Palau was born on Nov. 27, 1934 in Argentina. He was 10 years old when his father died, forcing him to quit his education from a British boarding school and work in a bank to support his family.
He turned his life to the Lord Jesus Christ in 1947 during a summer camp. He first heard Billy Graham on a radio in 1952 and would later work for him as a Spanish interpreter in 1962.
He moved to Portland, Oregon in 1960 to study at Multnomah Bible College. He married his wife, Pat, a year later and became father to twin sons Kevin and Keith in 1963. In the same year, the couple also started serving as missionaries in Mexico and Colombia before returning to Oregon in 1970. Billy Graham provided $100,000 for him to start his own ministry.
The Luis Palau Association was formed in October 1978, based in Beaverton. Three of his sons -the third being Stephen- have worked for the ministry.
Like the late Billy Graham, Evangelist Palau's events were also drawing in thousands of attendees, notably attracting many young people.
In 2003, he started hosting three radio programs daily, an English program played by 900 stations in 23 countries and two Spanish programs carried by 880 stations in 25 countries.
Mr. Palau helped Portland address the city's homelessness issue, coordinating with evangelicals and politicians to organize an event focusing on volunteerism for the homeless. In August 2008, a festival was held that drew 140,000 people for the cause.
He also hosted an evangelistic event in New York's Central Park in 2015, attracting 60,000 people.
Mr. Palau has written a number of books, including "Where is God When Bad things Happen?," "Calling America and the Nations to Christ," "God is Relevant," "High Definition Life" and "A Friendly Dialogue between an Atheist and a Christian."
