{"id":8324,"date":"2023-11-15T08:56:10","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T13:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=8324"},"modified":"2023-11-15T08:56:10","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T13:56:10","slug":"20000-gather-in-rome-for-largest-evangelistic-outreach-in-italys-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2023\/11\/20000-gather-in-rome-for-largest-evangelistic-outreach-in-italys-history.html","title":{"rendered":"20,000 Gather in Rome for Largest Evangelistic Outreach in Italy\u2019s History"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association | Inset-Anthony Correia \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association released a statement celebrating the group\u2019s involvement in the Noi Festival Roma November 4th and 5th. The two-day event was organized by over 800 evangelical churches and saw over 20,000 people attend the event, with Franklin Graham speaking to the crowd at the Palazzo dello Sport. An outdoor screening area was required for overflow as the stadium has 18,000 seats. This is the second year for the event, but the first time for it to be held in Rome. Last year\u2019s event was in Milan, with 13,000 people in attendance. That gathering broke attendance records for the Mediolanum Forum, Milan\u2019s largest indoor venue. This year\u2019s event was the first of its kind in Rome, in a country where <\/span>nearly 80%<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of its population identifies as Catholic. The event also featured music performed by Grammy nominees Michael W. Smith and Kari Jobe. \u201cIn the face of daunting challenges confronting both Rome and the world, including a war in Europe, fractured families, and a loss of core values, we eagerly anticipate a message that will kindle the flames of hope and love within our hearts,\u201d said Antonio Marino, a minister who also helped with the event.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a <\/span>press release<\/span><\/a>, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association called the event \u201cmonumental.\u201d \u201cAbout 200 buses from around the country converged on Rome, filled with church members and friends they invited who don\u2019t know Jesus Christ,\u201d the release added. Graham shared the Gospel with the crowd, saying, \u201cYour soul will spend eternity in either Heaven or Hell. So the decision you make tonight may change the destiny of your soul. God is anxious to forgive you. He will do that tonight, but you\u2019ve got to come to Him through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.\u201d The release reported that over 1,000 people made a decision to follow Christ. It shared the story of a woman named Patricia. She and her family had attended a church in Naples that had invited them to come to the event on a bus. For years, Patricia had struggled with guilt for an abortion she\u2019d had 20 years ago. On Sunday, she came to Christ and asked for forgiveness. \u201cI\u2019m a sinner and still have some problems, but Jesus forgives us. We know that Jesus has forgiven us by going to the cross,\u201d she said. Her husband and 16-year-old son also became Christians.<\/span><\/p>\n

Marino stressed the importance of hearing about a relationship with Christ. \u201cMany churches offer religion, but a relationship with Jesus Christ is a totally different thing,\u201d he said. Despite nearly 80% of Italians identifying as Catholic, only 19% attend services weekly, with 31% never attending. \u201cYou can get to know Him,\u201d said Marino. \u201cIf you really would know who Jesus is, if you really would know who God is and what He wants to do in your life and with your life, you would fall in love with Him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association released a statement celebrating the group\u2019s involvement in the Noi Festival Roma November 4th and 5th. The two-day event was organized by over 800 evangelical churches and saw over 20,000 people attend the event, with Franklin Graham speaking to the crowd at the Palazzo dello Sport. An outdoor screening area…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":664,"featured_media":8330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n20,000 Gather in Rome for Largest Evangelistic Outreach in Italy\u2019s History<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"20,000 people gathered in Italy, making it the largest outreach in Italy's history.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2023\/11\/20000-gather-in-rome-for-largest-evangelistic-outreach-in-italys-history.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"20,000 Gather in Rome for Largest Evangelistic Outreach in Italy\u2019s History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"20,000 people gathered in Italy, making it the largest outreach in Italy's history.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2023\/11\/20000-gather-in-rome-for-largest-evangelistic-outreach-in-italys-history.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Christ News Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-15T13:56:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/409\/2023\/11\/noi-fest-billy-graham_credit-Billy-Graham-Evangelistic-Association_Inset-Anthony-Correia-shutterstock-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cecilia Buchanan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"20,000 Gather in Rome for Largest Evangelistic Outreach in Italy\u2019s History","description":"20,000 people gathered in Italy, making it the largest outreach in Italy's history.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2023\/11\/20000-gather-in-rome-for-largest-evangelistic-outreach-in-italys-history.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"20,000 Gather in Rome for Largest Evangelistic Outreach in Italy\u2019s History","og_description":"20,000 people gathered in Italy, making it the largest outreach in Italy's history.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2023\/11\/20000-gather-in-rome-for-largest-evangelistic-outreach-in-italys-history.html","og_site_name":"Christ News Today","article_published_time":"2023-11-15T13:56:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":576,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/409\/2023\/11\/noi-fest-billy-graham_credit-Billy-Graham-Evangelistic-Association_Inset-Anthony-Correia-shutterstock-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cecilia Buchanan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2023\/11\/20000-gather-in-rome-for-largest-evangelistic-outreach-in-italys-history.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2023\/11\/20000-gather-in-rome-for-largest-evangelistic-outreach-in-italys-history.html","name":"20,000 Gather in Rome for Largest Evangelistic Outreach in Italy\u2019s History","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2023\/11\/20000-gather-in-rome-for-largest-evangelistic-outreach-in-italys-history.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2023\/11\/20000-gather-in-rome-for-largest-evangelistic-outreach-in-italys-history.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/409\/2023\/11\/noi-fest-billy-graham_credit-Billy-Graham-Evangelistic-Association_Inset-Anthony-Correia-shutterstock-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2023-11-15T13:56:10+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-15T13:56:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/#\/schema\/person\/77cb6eeb5c74ee0eb8c77ea1ebc43c6a"},"description":"20,000 people gathered in Italy, making it the largest outreach in Italy's history.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2023\/11\/20000-gather-in-rome-for-largest-evangelistic-outreach-in-italys-history.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2023\/11\/20000-gather-in-rome-for-largest-evangelistic-outreach-in-italys-history.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2023\/11\/20000-gather-in-rome-for-largest-evangelistic-outreach-in-italys-history.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/409\/2023\/11\/noi-fest-billy-graham_credit-Billy-Graham-Evangelistic-Association_Inset-Anthony-Correia-shutterstock-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/409\/2023\/11\/noi-fest-billy-graham_credit-Billy-Graham-Evangelistic-Association_Inset-Anthony-Correia-shutterstock-scaled.jpg","width":768,"height":576,"caption":"Billy Graham Evangelistic Association | Inset-Anthony Correia \/ Shutterstock.com"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2023\/11\/20000-gather-in-rome-for-largest-evangelistic-outreach-in-italys-history.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"20,000 Gather in Rome for Largest Evangelistic Outreach in Italy\u2019s History"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/","name":"Christ News Today","description":"Christian News From Around the Globe","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/#\/schema\/person\/77cb6eeb5c74ee0eb8c77ea1ebc43c6a","name":"Leigh Pizzutilla","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/author\/lpizzutilla"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/664"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8324"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8336,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8324\/revisions\/8336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}