Bogota Graham Festival Wraps Up with Over 11,700 Decisions for Christ

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association wrapped up "Festival de Esperanza" (Festival of Hope) in Colombia's capital city Saturday, recording over 11,700 decisions for Christ.

Of the more than 11,700 decisions, over 7,200 were made by children who joined Saturday for what turned out to be the largest kid's event in the history of Franklin Graham Festivals. In total, more than 80,000 children were present.

"Today we are celebrating something very important for our whole nation," said Baola Hernandez, one of the entertainers who performed during "Festininos" Saturday morning. "It is important to reach all the families of Colombia through their children."

Later that evening, more than 1,700 people from a crowd of approximately 30,000 responded to a call by American evangelist Franklin Graham, who preached Saturday night about the Prodigal Son.

"The father saw the boy from a distance," Graham stated, referring to the story recorded in Luke 15:11-32. "He was watching the road and when he sees his son, he runs to his son and throws his arms around his son and he kisses him! They celebrate and that can happen tonight if you run to your father!"

Before Saturday, over 2,800 decisions had already been made for Christ, beginning with the more than 1,500 on the opening night, followed by the more than 1,300 on Friday.

The last time the BGEA held a massive evangelistic event in Colombia was in 1962, when Graham's father, world renowned evangelist Billy Graham, shared the Gospel with as many as 250,000 throughout his visit.

Around 9,000 at that time made decisions for Christ.