Final night of Buenos Aires outreach – Billy Graham Ministries
When Sergio arrived at Vélez Stadium on Saturday afternoon, he was eager to see what God would do. Although Sergio had never attended an evangelical church before, God had ordered a series of events that ultimately led him to the Esperanza Buenos Aires Festival with Franklin Graham.
Over the past few years, his friend David shared the Gospel message with him several times, but Sergio’s heart was closed. Even though they didn’t share the same beliefs, David offered his friendship unconditionally. Both in their 30s, they continued to meet and talk about God.
“But one day, after a conversation we had, something changed,” Sergio said. “I had a question and started looking for [Christian] messages online.”
“What’s amazing is that he found Billy Graham’s messages [online] and started listening to them,” David said.
“Those messages made me think a lot,” Sergio added.
A few weeks ago, Sergio saw on social media that Franklin Graham was coming to Buenos Aires to preach, just as Billy Graham did 34 years ago. He couldn’t believe it. He felt so strongly that God was calling him to attend the event that he couldn’t resist—and he asked David if he would come with him.
“I had been praying for him, and I intended to invite him,” David said with a smile. “But I was surprised when one day he told me that he wanted to come.”
The excited friends arrived at the stadium early and sat together near the stage.
Graham shared a message based on the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1–10. Zacchaeus was a man of short stature who was curious about Jesus, so he climbed a tree to see Him as He passed through Jericho.
As a tax collector, Zacchaeus had enriched himself at the expense of his own people by extorting more than they owed. He was a sinner who knew he was despised by everyone.
