Every summer, nearly 15 million tourists flock to the beaches of Mallorca, Spain to party, but a local ministry sees it as one of the best opportunities to reach souls for the Kingdom of God.
This year, 250 Christians took part in Reach Mallorca, a two-week gospel outreach to reach young Europeans with the love of Christ.
Gernot Elsner, director of Reach Mallorca, told CBN News they picked Mallorca because it was a “party zone.”
“We thought how about going to a place where most Germans go to vacation and also a lot of people from other parts of Europe,” he explained. “Why not go to the party zone where people least expect it.”
What started as an outreach with 10 volunteers has now grown to 250 people actively sharing the Gospel with people.
Teams hit the boardwalks starting conversations and inviting people to nightly services on the beach to hear the message of Jesus.
Many have responded to the Gospel message and then get baptized in the ocean.
“People stay for hours. They come back every day. People are giving their lives to the Lord. They are requesting prayer and some of them are even being baptized,” Elsner added. “We are absolutely thrilled (about) what God is doing there.”
“There are thousands hearing the Gospel,” he continued. “There’s one story I love. Last year we met a guy who was completely drunk and on drugs in the party zone and he gave his life to the Lord and this year he joined us on our outreach team really reaching out to the same type of people that he was a part of the year before.”
Elsner says beachgoers are initially perplexed by the ministry sharing the Gospel in a heavy party town. However, they soon come to realize that what they have is real.
“They go there to party. Some of them are already drunk at 10 in the morning….and I guess they sense the presence of God. They sense we are Christians who are serious about Jesus, but we are also normal people. We are people they can talk to and share their lives with,” he explained. “God has given us a special grace in this place…It’s not that we are so special. It is the grace of God.”
Reach Mallorca also has a school on the island dedicated to teaching Christians how to share the love of Jesus Christ.
Elsner told CBN News he will soon be focusing on reaching American college students when they are off and partying on spring break.
“Mallorca is what Cancun is for American students and our heart is to spread what we are doing to other party zones around the world,” Elsner said.
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