Mid-Valley flocks to

Silva's festival outreach

By JOHN FORTMEYER
CNNW publisher
     ALBANY — The festival evangelism model that Portland-based evangelist Luis Palau has used now for more than a decade (see relatedstory, Page 3) is also proving effective for some of Palau’s partner evangelists — including Oregon’s Mike Silva.
     Utilizing the same intriguing mix of top Christian music artists, stunt demonstrations, a family fun zone, food, service opportunities and Christ-centered messages, Silva’s Willamette Celebration drew more than 30,000 from throughout the mid-Willamette Valley July 23 and 24 to Albany’s Timber Linn Park. An additional 2,000 attended a concluding Sunday morning worship service at the park on July 25. Sunshine and warm temperatures into the 90s bathed the park as a multitude of activities filled the site.
     Jenna Silva, the evangelist’s daughter and director of donor relations for her father’s ministry, said approximately 700 first-time decisions for Christ were made among those attending.
     She said the successful event was the result of cooperative efforts by 50 partnering churches, volunteers from a total of 161 churches throughout the valley, and more than 4,000 hours of documented prayer in advance for the community and the festival.
     Silva added that there were more than 4,900 hours of community volunteer service done in recent weeks through the festival’s related Season of Service, and six truckloads of clothing distributed to local needy through Christian agencies.
    “It took an army to pull this off, and it was evident,” she said. “ So many people were a part of it.”
     One contrast to most festivals was that attendance seemed slightly stronger the first day than the second, she said. Silva said the intensity of the hot weather on Saturday may have dampened attendance a bit.
     Featured artists on Friday included Benjiman, Superchick, Newsboys and Skillet. Saturday’s roster included Salvador, Jaci Velasquez, country singer Phil Vassar, musician/songwriter Byron “Mr. Talkbox” Chambers, Kevin Thornton and the Tray Michaels Band. Saturday afternoon included a special outreach in Spanish, with Mike Silva’s evangelistic message assisted with translation by Corvallis pastor Luis Acosta.
      Since April, Silva has also held festival outreaches in Leon, Nicaragua and Leticia, Colombia. For more information, go to www.mikesilva.org.