Yes, it’s true: Adventists made history! Trinidad in 2005; Sao Paulo and Bucharest in 2006; Cape Town in 2007; Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, Lima, and Bogota in 2009. In these cities and in others, Adventists made history. How? They organized their first festival of religious freedom. You make history when you do something no one has ever done before. You make history when the event you organize makes a valuable contribution to the well-being of the community. You make history when you make a difference.
THE LORD WILL MAKE YOU THE HEAD
I will never forget my first visit to the indoor stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil a few months before the 2006 event; I really thought it would be impossible to fill it. Williams Costa, South American Division Religious Liberty leader at the time, was the organizer. He worked with the Central Brazil Union Conference team. Williams had more experience with big events than I had, but he was a newcomer in the Religious Liberty department. He had not spent countless Saturday afternoons at church meetings attended by 25, 30, or 50 people. I had always thought we could and should do better than that, but I was realistic. I knew that most people were not interested in religious freedom as long as they themselves, were free. When difficultties arise, when people are in jail or out of work or business, they become more concerned. The problem is, when that happens, it is too late.
My dream was a world festival in 2009 with 10,000 people. I knew it was possible because God made a promise, and I wanted to take it seriously. In Deuteronomy 28, we read: “The Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath” (verse 13). But there is a condition: “if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God . . .”
This promise had changed my mind. If we were faithful and work for the glory of God, we could make history! I thought having 10,000 people gathered to celebrate religious freedom in 2009 was the most we could ever dream about attending a festival. When I shared this idea with Williams Costa, he looked at me with surprise and replied, “Why wait until 2009 to have 10,000 people? “ I answered, “Because nobody is interested in religious freedom!” But he replied positively, “We can do that in three months!” Costa and the other wonderful church members responded with joy and conviction, “We can do it!” God’s promise was for them! In listening to Williams, I knew we were going to make history. In June 2006, the stadium was filled with 12,000 people. More than 60 percent were young people. The program was fabulous. Many people stood outside the stadium, waiting to enter. Finally, the police closed the door, estimating that there were still 20,000 people waiting outside. For the first time in history, more than 10,000 people were gathered to celebrate religious freedom. That day, Williams Costa, his team, and the Central Brazilian Union made history. On the Thursday before the festival, we spent one hour with the governor of Sao Paulo and the president of the State Parliament. At the festival, several officials attended. For all churches in Sao Paulo, for the governor, for the elected officials, and for the religious leaders, it was a surprising event. They saw the Adventist Church in a different way. We did what they had never done: publicly celebrate religious liberty for all with more than 10,000 people.
WHY DO WE NEED A FESTIVAL OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM?
The idea of a mass meeting for religious freedom first had to face incredulity. People wondered why we wanted to do such a thing. What they thought was: “Your job is to meet government officials, to work with experts, to attend meetings, and to organize symposiums when needed. Organizing big meetings is not part of your job!” To organize an event like this, we needed strong support from the church leaders. Why should they give us this support? Because without religious freedom, it would be impossible to preach the gospel, open schools, build churches and hospitals, have radio and TV programs, etc. Can you name a country where the church is growing rapidly without religious freedom? Where do we have the largest number of members, schools, hospitals, television programs—in Brazil or in North Korea? What is the main difference between these two countries: the economy, the electricity, the army? Yes, there are these differences, but the main factor which affects our church is religious freedom. Approximately 300 million Christians are discriminated against or persecuted in the world today. Persecution is a reality. People who are persecuted dream of religious freedom, and they dream about living in a country that protects them.
Religious freedom is a gift from God and from their country. Most of the believers do nothing special to deserve religious freedom; they just receive it as a gift. But some people, believers and unbelievers, give their lives for the freedom we have today. Our freedom is their gift!
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU RECEIVE A GIFT?
In 2007 I went to Lima, Peru for the third time. We had had the first South American Congress there, and now my goal was to promote the first World Festival of Religious Freedom. Edson Rosa from the Division headquarters in Brasilia was with me. Williams had suggested the Lima site, but we had to get church administration and the church members involved. We received strong support from Union presidents Orlando Ramos and Samuel Sandoval. Without them, the World Festival would have been only a vision. Without having the South American Division and its president, Erton Carlos Kohler, backing this project, the first World Festival of Religious Freedom would have been just a dream.
We had several meetings prior to the event. Every time I asked, “Is religious freedom a gift?” the answer was a strong “Yes!” But when I asked “What do you do when you receive a nice gift?” no one had an answer. Then someone said with a weak voice, “Thank you!” After a few minutes, all said “Thank you!” The next question was: “Have you already said thank you to God, the heroes of freedom, and your country for your religious freedom?” People realized they had not said “Thank you” in a powerful way. They realized religious freedom deserved a big and public thanks! Can you imagine a gathering with only 100 people? It would mean that religious freedom is not important to us. What a terrible message it would be for our legislators. But when thousands of people gather together to say “Thank you for religious freedom—we love it and want to keep it,” people notice! In Lima they decided that the festival would be a big public event. They were enthusiastic about it. They wanted to make history for the glory of God.
They made it a fabulous week. Four successful forums were organized in regional capital cities. In Lima, a march of 10,000 people for religious equality was followed by a forum. All religions were represented. Two ministers of the government and the president of the Supreme Court participated. These officials came to the festival on Saturday evening, June 13, 2009. More than 40,000 people gathered in the national stadium to thank God and the country for the gift of religious freedom.
BEING THANKFUL FOR THE FREEDOM TO PREACH THE GOSPEL
When I look forward to future festivals, I am amazed: South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela—every country or region in the world where we can preach the gospel freely deserves a big and public thanks, not just an ordinary meeting, but an event! Imagine living in a country where you don’t have religious freedom. To preach the good news, we need freedom. To equip our communities in building churches and schools, we need freedom. To share with power the three angels’ message by radio, television, books, and magazines, we need freedom. Those who give us freedom and protect it deserve a big thanks!
The purpose of the festival of religious freedom is simple but powerful: to give thanks to God, to the heroes of freedom, and to the country for religious freedom!
Do you want your church to make history in your city? Do you want Adventists to make history in their countries? Do you want our church members to be leaders in thanking God and our country in a public way? If you answered “Yes!” organize a festival of religious freedom.
John Graz is director of the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department at the General Conference.
