In April and May 2020, Robert Costa, speaker/director for the It Is Written Spanish ministry Escrito Está held eight one-week, online evangelistic series aired in more than 16 million homes. As a result, millions of people had the opportunity to hear and accept hope in Jesus. Robert Costa filmed the meetings from his living room using his computer, an iPhone, two lights, one lapel microphone, and a Bible.
The series was offered to countries in North America, Central America, South America, and Western Europe. Most meetings opened with a 5- to 10-minute health topic, and four of the events were translated into sign language. As a result or the meetings, several thousand have been baptized or are preparing for baptism. Thousands are still waiting to be baptized when churches open.
Prayer was an essential part of the meetings’ success. More than 80,000 members prayed 24/7 for two weeks in one area, and as a result, more than 1,500 baptisms occurred. In another area, six church groups joined forces, and almost one million members invited their friends to the meetings. Church members were motivated to reach their friends even if they could only connect with them by phone.
On May 9, 2020, one of the series, Esperanza en Jesús (Hope in Jesus), aired in the United States. Others viewed it from Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, and Guatemala. Costa spoke nightly to thousands of people who viewed on YouTube, Facebook, and the Escrito Está website.
Contacts From Various Places
Throughout the week, viewers contacted the ministry sharing how they had been blessed (names have been changed).
In Florida, United States, Jorge and Luisa contacted the ministry through WhatsApp. Jorge had recently lost his painting job, and Luisa had just come out of the hospital and was recovering from a severe kidney infection. They don’t attend any church, but the current difficult situation made them both want to reconnect with God and study the Bible. They watched the entire series through Facebook.
In Chile, Ademar is a professional soccer player and captain of a soccer team. He grew up as a Catholic but now wants to be baptized because he learned more about the Bible from watching Esperanza en Jesús. He has already started observing the Saturday Sabbath and asks for prayers as many of the major soccer games are played on the Sabbath.
From California, United States, Escrito Está received a prayer request from Marta for her sister, Eldora, to seek God. She’s in an abusive marriage and has two children with autism. That same evening, Marta contacted the ministry again to say that Eldora had reached out to her and wants to study the Bible.
In New Jersey, United States, Ricardo shared that he grew up in a Christian home where he knew about the Saturday Sabbath and the love of Jesus, but his life had taken a different turn. He watched Esperanza en Jesús because he wanted to come back to the Lord. Please pray for this searching young man.
In Mexico, during the first nights of the meetings, a man named Angel asked for prayers for his son, who had been kidnapped. He watched Esperanza en Jesús in search of hope and strength as he faced such a severe trial. Thankfully, by Friday, his prayers were answered. His son was returned home safely.
Juan, from Quito, Ecuador, shared that topics in the series touched his heart and made him turn to Jesus. He said during the week, his eyes were opened. “That is why I decided to contact you, because I would like to study the Bible to get to know more. Thank you!”
Working With Local Pastors
Escrito Está works with local pastors, connecting interested people to a local Seventh-day Adventist congregation and assisting them so they can keep studying the Bible, Costa said. Many of them ask for a visit, stating that they wish to learn more. Others who have already taken Bible studies contact the ministry asking to be baptized, he explained.
“Although the meetings are over, requests for baptism continue. Now local pastors will keep contacting and teaching the Bible to them,” he said.
The original version of this story was posted on the It Is Written site.
