Caicó, Brazil is located in Northeast Brazil in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. According to a census in 2013 a total of 66,246 people live in the city. The city has the highest rate of suicide in the state and the third highest rate of suicide in the country of Brazil. Caicó is known as a stronghold of idolatry and the people fight mental depression and spiritual oppression. The city is considered to be a stronghold of Catholicism. The patron saint of Caicó is St. Anne and every year a festival is held by the Roman Catholic Church to honor her memory. Caicó is also known for hosting the largest carnival in the state of Rio Grande do Norte.
The planning for the crusade began six months in advance. A crusade director visited the city of Caicó and met with the local pastors. They indicated their eagerness to participate in the crusade. All nine of the evangelical churches in the city participated in our crusade. The total membership of these nine churches equals 1,357 which is about 2% of the population of the city of Caicó.
Three months prior to the crusade, prayer cards were given to all the church members. Each believer was encouraged to write down the names of ten unsaved people on their prayer card and to begin to pray for them to be saved. When the event drew closer, the church members reached out to the ten people and invited each of them to attend the crusade. Permission was secured from local authorities to hold the event. One month prior to the crusade, one thousand posters were distributed throughout the city. The local churches distributed seventy thousand crusade pamphlets and fifty thousand youth crusade invitations. In the eight days prior to the crusade, seven sound cars were used to announce the crusade for six hours each day for a total of two hundred and fifty-six hours of sound car announcements. Seven hundred and fifty radio spots were run on three different radio stations over a fifteen-day period. WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook were also used to advertise the event.
Our international team of ministers included six Americans, one Canadian, one Paraguayan, one German, and at least five Brazilians. When the team arrived in the city, we immediately began ministering in local schools and neighborhoods. We also gave away food to hungry families.
We held a three-day training event for local believers. Then we did a youth event and used music and a strength team to attract the young people. When the crusade began, the city was ready. On Friday night, three deaf people were healed and began to speak. This miracle caused attendance on Saturday night to greatly increase. We also did a children’s festival and a pastoral leadership seminar.
A total of 641 people filled out decision cards at the crusade indicating they decided to follow Jesus. This harvest of souls represents an increase of 43% in the number of Christians in Caicó, On the Sunday after the crusade, all nine churches in the city reported that new people attended their churches.
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