#berlarus

‘General Strike, for a better life!’

Thousands of Christians packed a major sports arena in Minsk over the weekend for what organisers described as the largest evangelical outreach event ever held in Belarus, with attendance records broken on both nights of the gathering. 

The two-day “Festival of Hope”, organised by Franklin Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), drew almost 31,000 people to Chizhovka Arena in the Belarusian capital.

Church leaders in the country said the scale of the event was unprecedented for Belarus’s evangelical community, which represents less than 2% of the population.

The wife of a pastor in Minsk, Alyona Lazuta, said: “It really is a miracle. We’ve prayed for something like this for many years.”

The outreach was organised in partnership with almost 700 evangelical churches from across Belarus, marking what church leaders said was the first nationally coordinated evangelical event of its kind in the country.

Leonid Mikhovich, general secretary of the Belarus Baptist Union and one of the event coordinators, said evangelical churches in Belarus had historically faced severe limitations on the size and visibility of public gatherings.

He explained: “We used to maybe be allowed to have 1,000 people come for something. But to have more than 10,000? No, we've had nothing like this. The status of this arena is also important. It's one of the largest hockey arenas in the country. We could never ever dream to even rent such a building.”

Over 15,200 people attended the opening night on Saturday, with organisers reporting that both the main arena and overflow areas reached capacity. Crowds even reportedly gathered outside to listen to the preaching and worship as the venue was full.

The attendance rose again to around 15,500 on the second evening, prompting officials to make another level of the arena available and add extra seating.

Preaching during the event, Graham urged people to place their faith in Jesus Christ.

“Jesus didn’t come to condemn you, He came to save you,” he told the crowd. “He [God] made you and He loves you, but the only way to be forgiven of your sins and have a personal relationship with Him is through His Son, Jesus Christ.”

Christians across Belarus prepared for the outreach through prayer, fasting and personally inviting others to hear the Gospel. 

A 1,300-member choir made up of believers from 43 cities and villages also took part in the event.

According to the BGEA, over 2,000 Bibles were distributed to people who accepted the Gospel message over the weekend.

Among them was a man who reportedly told volunteers he had attempted to take his own life earlier in the week before attending the festival and deciding to become a Christian.

A deaf student named Aleksandr said he experienced a sense of freedom after hearing the message.

“I was so tired of my sinful life,” he said. “Now … I feel in my soul it's easier for me, there's no weight. Something that was holding me let go.”

The festival also carried political significance in a country where public religious activity is closely monitored.

Ahead of the gathering, Graham met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov at the Palace of Independence in Minsk, where he thanked the authorities for allowing the event to proceed.

“We have come to deliver our message to all Belarusians, and this message is from the Lord God,” Graham said following the meeting. “I pray that our presence here would help, not just for today, but for future generations.”

Belarusian state media aired an interview with Graham discussing faith, spiritual diplomacy and the war in Ukraine. 

Speaking with anchor and deputy director general of First Informational TV, Viktoryia Senkevich, Graham said Christians should “bring people together” and act as “ambassadors for God.” 

Asked whether US President Donald Trump and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko could help cease the conflict in Ukraine, Graham said he believed both leaders wanted peace and urged people to pray for a resolution.

He added: “I would like to see them come together and meet.”

Reflecting on the weekend, Mikhovich said the event had strengthened relationships between evangelical churches and government authorities at what he described as an important moment for Christians in Belarus.