Luis Palau came to have tremendous fruitfulness and prominence in his worldwide evangelistic ministry. But as a young man, he seriously questioned his ability to effectively proclaim the good news of salvation and was tempted to give up his evangelistic efforts. To follow is a vital lesson he learned about evangelism, and a valuable reminder for all of us in our various forms of service for the Lord.
By the time Luis was in his early twenties, he and several other young men in the Gospel-preaching church he attended in Cordoba, Argentina, held many evangelistic street meetings, sold Bibles, and handed out tracts. They also organized a Sunday School program, led youth meetings, and held all-night prayer meetings.
However, Luis became frustrated that his evangelistic preaching seemed to have no spiritual power. He sought to be studied up, prayed up, and fired up in his ministries. Yet he saw no immediate fruit from his evangelistic efforts, except a few children who trusted in Christ as their Savior when he directed and taught Vacation Bible School.
Finally, he decided that if he did not see any converts by the end of the year, he would quit preaching. He would still be an active Christian and would continue to study the Bible and pray. But he would resign himself to simply assisting others in their ministries rather than leading in ministry himself. When the year ended with no one turning to Jesus, he firmly concluded, “I don’t have the gift of evangelism.”
On a Saturday morning, just a few days into the new year, Luis sat down to read The Secret of Happiness, a book written by Billy Graham, who by that time had become a famous young American evangelist. Luis was blessed by Graham’s thoughts on Christ’s Beatitudes recorded in Matthew 5:3-12. As he read, he memorized the main points Graham made on each Beatitude.
That evening Luis did not feel like going to the home Bible study he usually attended on Saturdays. But to support the church leaders, he went anyway. When the intended speaker never arrived, Luis was asked to speak. “Oh, I’m not prepared to speak tonight,’ he tried to excuse himself. “And besides, I forgot to bring my Bible.”
But eventually he was persuaded. With just enough time to breathe a silent prayer, Luis urgently asked the Lord for His help and blessing. He borrowed a New Testament, turned to Matthew 5, and read the first Beatitude. After repeating a few points he remembered from Billy Graham’s book, he read the next verse and did the same.
When he came to verse 8, he read: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Suddenly a woman from the neighborhood stood and started to cry. “Somebody help me!” she pleaded. “My heart is not pure. How am I going to find God? Somebody tell me how I can get a pure heart.”
Luis directed her attention to 1 John 1:7 and read: “The blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.” He went on to explain that Christ shed His blood on the cross so that those who trust in Him can be cleansed from sin and saved from its judgment. As a result, the woman believed in Jesus and went home that night with a pure heart that was at peace with God.
Luis returned home full of joy and praise to the Lord that He had used him in pointing this woman to the Savior. Through this incident he was reminded that it is God’s Holy Spirit who convicts people of sin. God draws individuals to Jesus and salvation in His own good time.
Not only in evangelism, but in all our endeavors to serve the Lord, we do not control when or to what degree positive spiritual fruit will be borne. Rather, our part in the process is to always serve Christ in the ways we believe He would have us to, while prayerfully depending on Him to use our efforts for good. God will graciously use us to bear fruit when and how He desires. In this way it remains clear that He, rather than we, deserves all the credit and glory for any fruit resulting through our efforts. (See also John 15:5-8 and 1 Corinthians 3:5-9.)
* * *
This is just one of many interesting, spiritually-instructive incidents in my new youth biography Luis Palau: Calling the World to Christ. If you missed it earlier, you may also be interested in my recent blog, “Reasons to Read My Luis Palau Youth Biography”: https://vancechristie.com/2025/08/26/reasons-to-read-my-luis-palau-youth-biography/
Here’s a link to further information from the publisher about the book:
Copyright 2025 by Vance E. Christie
