Millions of people heard him preach, whether in person or over the radio, and a million were recorded responding to the gospel message through his preaching. In Luis Palau, we see God working through an utterly fallible but wholly surrendered human being. Often dubbed “the Billy Graham of Latin America,” Luis Palau’s heart beat for the sake of sharing the gospel of Christ.
How Did Luis Palau Become An Evangelist?
One of the most foundational events in Luis Palau’s life occurred while he was still in his mother’s womb. She surrendered her life to Christ. His father followed suit a year later. For both, this decision meant more than setting aside an hour or so every Sunday. It meant their lives. They were all in. As Luis grew up in Maschwitz, Argentina, he witnessed in his parents a steadfast commitment to love and serve their savior despite whatever trial would come their way. And trials did come.
In 1944, when Luis was 10 years old, his father got pneumonia. Within days, he was with the Lord. His family lost everything. Their rock was gone—and with his passing, so was his income. Palau’s life suddenly shifted from a comfortable wellspring of relational and financial security to a big question mark. Where would his family live? How would they survive with little to no money? As a widowed mother of six kids, where was Matilde Palau to look for support, provision, fellowship, and protection?
She looked to Christ. And Palau took note. So trusting was she in the generosity and faithfulness of her Heavenly Father that even when their family depended largely on his salary, Matilde encouraged Palau to preach to the lost. When he was hesitant to enter full-time ministry, Palau told her, “Mom, I’m waiting for the call.” She responded, “The call went out two thousand years ago, Luis! The Lord’s waiting for your answer; you’re not waiting for His call!” In his autobiography Palau: A Life on Fire, Palau recalled that conversation as one of his life’s defining moments. He stopped waiting to feel ready and obeyed God’s call to give everything.
The next major turning point in Palau’s life came when he went to listen to two American preachers. One of these men, Ray Stedman, would go on to teach him a foundational truth about the Christian life that shaped him at his core. He showed Palau that living for Christ is not all formalities and dignified rule-keeping. In Stedman, Palau saw a sense of freedom that he had not yet experienced, but would eventually.
Stedman did more for Palau than open his eyes to the reality and fullness of Galatians 5:1. He was also why Palau found himself in America. After several years studying under Stedman in Hollywood, California, Palau would begin a year-long graduate certificate program at Multnomah University in Portland, Oregon. Determined to pour himself into the work, Palau was surprised by his desire to get to know his classmate, Patricia Scofield. Before their time at Multnomah ended, she became Patricia Palau. ‘Pat,’ as she was known by many, was a pivotal part of his work as a father and as an evangelist.
Finding Pat was not the only life-altering surprise at Multnomah. During his studies, Palau felt burdened because he did not seem to be reaping much fruit from his labors. He also felt a tangible rift between the freedom experienced by men like Stedman and historical mentors like D.L. Moody and Hudson Taylor. There was, as he expressed, a ‘missing ingredient’ that he longed for.
During a chapel service where Major Ian Thomas gave a guest sermon, Palau found that missing ingredient. Thomas taught on Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Palau had been wearing himself thin for the sake of Christ to please Him but laboring by his own strength. In what Palau described as the “greatest turning point of my spiritual life,” he finally understood that God “wanted more than just my natural fitting or commitment. He wanted me.”
The indwelling Christ became more to him than a lofty idea. It was his reality. After that experience, which Palau called his ‘second conversion,’ he felt a new sense of joy, peace, and power in the things he preached. He saw more people respond to his message. He was ministering not by the strength of Luis Palau but by the Spirit which raised Christ from the dead.
Following his time at Multnomah University, Palau met the next person who changed his life’s trajectory and shaped his ministry: Billy Graham. Palau interned with Graham and later served as a translator and traveling companion. The experience taught Palau how to create a ministry that could impact masses of people. He also learned the vital quality for doing that ministry: humility. In Graham, Palau saw something Stedman had spoken about—the call to crucify one’s ego, how Christ’s power can protect even a renowned man from the snare of pride. Palau became determined to make humility his ministry’s bedrock.
With a committed team helping him, Palau soon led his evangelistic campaigns, traveling worldwide and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Although Palau is best known for his work in Latin America, he preached the good news in 80 countries.
His family also grew—he and Pat had four sons. All four follow the Lord, and three work for the Luis Palau Association. His sons influenced Palau to adopt what became the hallmark of his ministry: a festival approach to large-scale campaigns.
Palau kept preaching until his passing. He passed away on March 11, 2021, after a three-year battle with stage IV lung cancer. His life on earth ended, but even in death, Palau found peace. He had run the good race and soon met His savior face to face.
What Is Luis Palau Known For?
Like other evangelists who inspired him, Palau led large-scale campaigns wherein he saw countless people come to Christ. He took a unique approach with festival-like events, including rock bands and skateboarders. His approach opened the door to largely overlooked populations and showed his desire to see unity in the community—to reach all willing to listen.
Palau also had unique success through his radio programs. His voice could be heard on thousands of different outlets across 48 different countries.
10 Quotes by Luis Palau
1. “We all can make a difference for the world’s good and God’s glory. If—and that is an enormous if—we are willing to become nothing so that God can become everything in us.” — Palau: A Life on Fire.
2. “If you are to be impressed of anything about me then be impressed with this: I am not all that special. Is that not a greater testimony? God uses the weak, he uses the mundane.” — Palau: A Life on Fire.
3. “God is fun. Let me tell you again: God is a blast.” — “Why I’m Excited for Heaven”
4. “The best periods of my life were those times I really did simply delight in the Lord.” — My Life in Seven Words
5. “The degree to which we serve is the degree to which we are great in God's eyes.” — Palau: A Life on Fire
6. “God’s promises are actually quite staggering. And should we choose to believe what He has to say in Scripture, we might just find our hope renewed, our faith strengthened, and our love for the Lord far deeper than we ever imagined possible.” — “God’s Promises for You”
7. “I needed to embrace that Christ in me was the hope of glory and that nothing less than the Sun of righteousness could shine the light I was looking for in my heart.” — Palau: A Life on Fire
8. “We have freedom from our deepest fears because Jesus went deeper than death itself.” — My Life in Seven Words
9. “Are we putting our hope in a leader, or in Christ to change the heart of a nation? Does Scripture put hope in a nation, or the church?” — Palau: A Life on Fire
10. “A nudge from the Spirit, joyfully received and obeyed, can become an avalanche of abundant grace.” — My Life in Seven Words
You can read more of Palau’s work on Crosswalk.com.
10 Inspiring Books by Luis Palau
2. God is Relevant: Finding Strength and Peace in Today’s World
3. Changed by Faith: Dare to Trust God With Your Broken Pieces… And Watch What Happens
5. Heart After God: Running With David
6. The Moment to Shout: God’s Way to Face Walls
7. Stop Pretending: Insights in Authentic Christian Living
8. Say Yes! How to Renew Your Spiritual Passion
10. A Friendly Dialogue Between an Atheist and a Christian
What Can We Learn from Luis Palau Today?
What Luis Palau learned from Ray Stedman and Billy Graham, we can learn from him. The greatest enemy that the Christian (and the body of Christ_ fights is not from without but from within. It is our ego, our pride. It is the thing that causes many great evangelists to fall. But like Palau, we can rest assured that Christ can keep us humbly in the center of His will if we are willing to crucify ourselves for His sake. In Palau, we find proof that “whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for [Christ’s] sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25).
Of utter importance to Palau was the presence of a team, a group of committed, faithful Christians who were sold out completely for spreading the gospel. No man is fitted with every gift of the Spirit or every capacity needed for the body to function properly. No matter how mighty in faith, every person needs others to encourage them, pray over them, and hold them accountable.
Lastly, from Luis Palau, we learn that God uses very broken, very real humans. Palau had a temper that needed taming. He battled with his pride. He was born unto the flesh like the rest of us. His “superpower” was Christ in him, not anything particular about himself. In Palau, we see a man who, though afflicted by sin and suffering, was used miraculously by the God that made him.
Photo Credit: Paul Bowman/Wikimedia Commons
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