ProChrist 2006: Fewer Visitors — More Decisions
Evangelistic Campaign in 20 European Countries — 1.5 Million Visitors
By Wolfgang Polzer
Special to ASSIST News Service
MUNICH (ANS) — The European evangelistic campaign ProChrist 2006 has registered fewer visitors than three years ago. But decisions for Christ in German speaking countries were up significantly, as organizers told the evangelical news agency “idea”.
ProChrist meetings were aired daily from Munich via satellite to 1,250 venues in 20 countries, March 19 – 26. 43,000 persons in German speaking regions came forward to testify to a new faith in Jesus Christ. This represents a 45 percent increase over 2003, when 29,700 decisions were registered.
According to ProChrist’s media office in Munich, figures for the whole continent have not yet come in. A preliminary projection shows that a total of 1.5 million visitors watched the ProChrist programs, among them 1.17 million in Germany, Austria and German speaking parts of Switzerland and Northern Italy. Three years ago 1.8 million Europeans attended the meetings.
The main speaker was Rev. Ulrich Parzany, former general secretary of the German YMCA. His sermons were translated into 19 different languages.
During the final night in the Olympic hall in Munich, 400 visitors came forward. Only 200 counselors were at hand for the unexpectedly high number. A total of 1.500 decisions were registered in Munich.
ProChrist also aroused interest via the Internet. Approximately 60,000 users in 72 countries logged in to the web site www.prochrist.org and watched the live video stream from Munich.
In his sermons Parzany also touched on topical events. He called for intercession for Abdul Rahman, an Afghan convert, on trial for apostasy in Kabul and threatened with the death sentence. The charges against him were dropped as ProChrist drew to a close.
Organizers said they are confident that prayers contributed to the turnaround. Political and church leaders had also intervened on behalf of Rahman.
ProChrist started in 1993 from Essen, Germany, with Billy Graham as the main speaker. The next event is planned for 2008 or 2009. A central venue has not been named, but Berlin, Dusseldorf, Budapest and Vienna are in the running.