Taking the Gospel to Scotland's virgin territory

It's been 30 years since Luis, the grandson of a Scotsman, last brought the message of the Gospel to Scottish shores.

For much of June, Luis, his son Andrew, and teams of evangelists from more than a hundred Highland churches of all denominations have been reaching out to the region through a combination of preaching, music, skateboarding, sports and good old fashioned fun. What's struck Luis in the last few weeks is just how much Scotland has changed.

"There was still a lot of spiritual interest back then and even those who didn't go to church were open and the response was fabulous," he says, recalling his 1979 to 1981 Glasgow Crusade. "But in one generation you can definitely sense the secularisation and lack of church attendance. I have asked young people 'do you go to church?' and they look at me like I'm crazy. So it's been sudden, most sudden."

It's not just Scotland that is drifting from its Christian roots, but the rest of the UK and Europe too.

"I think we need to speak spiritual truth because I feel that Europe's atheists are on a rampage, attacking," he said.

"I call them atheist fundamentalists because the way they attack believers is outrageous – insulting remarks, mocking, putting down, despising, as if somehow a believer is an idiot and we are nothing but fools.

"Certainly we're not the brightest people some of us but there is a good company of people who are in high places who are believers."

The MPs' expenses scandal is, according to Luis, yet another indication of a "UK-wide renunciation of Christian ethic". One of the reasons the scandal has generated so much anger amongst voters, he feels, is that Britain has "rightly prided itself on its high moral and ethical standards of conduct in public life".

"But so long as Britain strays from its centuries-old institutionally embedded Christian heritage, it is inevitable that the moral lines in society will blur," he says. "It is my sad prediction, based on past experience worldwide, that if that shift continues, the MPs' scandal will become the national norm, not the exception."

The spiritual drifting that concerns Luis the most, however, is that taking place among the nation's young people. Just last weekend, a 22-year-old man who as a child raced against Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton in karting competitions died of a suspected drug overdose in a McDonalds toilet cubicle. He was the fourth person in Inverness to die of a drug related death in the last two months.

"If I'd gotten here last week I could have talked to him. Maybe the Lord could have changed his life," says Luis.

Alcohol is another concern of his. He expressed his sadness at seeing a young man being escorted out of a wedding reception only to stumble to the ground because he was so intoxicated with alcohol.

"This is so unnecessary," he says. "We would love to encourage people to find fresh life instead of thinking drugs and drink and porno stuff is life. There is such a better life and a good life."

He quoted John 10.10 in which Jesus said: "I am come that you might have life and have it more abundantly."

"This generation needs to realise that God isn't only interested in deeply spiritual things but he cares about your love life, your sex life, your business, your careers, your athletic desires, your musical tastes. He cares for them at every level," he said.

Yet the very people who need the Gospel the most are the ones the Highland churches are struggling to attract. It's for that reason they have asked Luis, who has enjoyed huge success worldwide with his festival model, to come. As one local pastor put it, the Highland churches are hoping that Luis' visit would "jumpstart" spiritual life in the region again.

"I feel there is a lack of spiritual food and that the young generation does need to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ in a way that's meaningful to them," he believes.
"And that's why we've got skateboarding, BMX, a children's area, because we want to get the young people's attention. Then when you've got their attention you can talk to them about the Lord."

That doesn't mean diluting Scripture, he stresses. It simply means taking a different approach: "The message is sacred and unchangeable but the context in which it is presented, the trappings around the message do need to be adapted to the times so that the young people feel this applies to me."

The 'mini-festivals' that have been held in several Highland towns over the last few weeks have generated a "good response", says son and fellow evangelist Andrew Palau. In Golspie, some 300 of the town's 1,000 inhabitants turned out for the event.

Being someone who returned to Christ only after 27 years of dabbling in drugs, alcohol and relationships, Andrew knows how to speak to the hearts of young people.

"I tried to keep it fun and encouraging but also address the things that are really on their hearts like eternity, forgiveness and power for living," he says after preaching at mini-festivals in Fort William, Forres and Buckie, which saw a number of young people give their lives to Christ.

"So many people are spiritual seeking, they were very receptive to the message," he says. "Kids are aware and it's nice to present it [the Gospel] to them and to see how readily they respond. Not all of them, but many, we had a good response."

With the venue set, the programme finished and the churches mobilised, all that's left to do now is wait and pray for the main event in Inverness' Bught Park this Friday and Saturday.

Some 6,000 prayer cards have been issued to local churches asking each churchgoer to try and bring at least one non-churched friend or family member with them.

And Luis' excited: "My main passion is to see people know they are going to Heaven when they die. I would like people to have the assurance of eternal life. We're here to try and lead people into the Kingdom of God and enjoy life the way they were meant to."