An open-air evangelistic service led by Egyptian-American pastor Michael Youssef drew a crowd of more than 1,600 to the campus of the Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary in a suburb of Amman on Sept. 4, according to the Jordanian Christian news site Milh il Ard. Leading The Way, the ministry Youssef founded, said in a statement released Sept. 9 that more than 500 Jordanians made professions of faith during the evening.
The gathering, held under the banner "Christ Our Hope," was organized by Al Malakoot Sat TV, known in English as KINGDOM SAT, the Arabic-language satellite channel Youssef established. It was hosted by by Imad Maayah, a retired major general and former member of the Jordanian parliament who serves as president of the Jordan Evangelical Council.
For Youssef, the event opened what he has described as a redirection of his ministry toward the Middle East. In an interview with Christian Daily International published the day before the service, he said he had stepped down from the pulpit of the Atlanta congregation he led for nearly four decades and had been urged by his son Jonathan to give his remaining working years to the Arab world. "I want to start in Jordan," he said.
Youssef preached on the account in Matthew 19 of the wealthy man who asks Jesus how to obtain eternal life, speaking through an interpreter, Rev. Yousef Hashweh. Leading The Way said the address was titled "Arms Wide Open."
"I've had the privilege of traveling around the world 78 times in the last 50 years and I've seen the problem of humanity is the same everywhere," Youssef said in remarks distributed by the ministry. "We live in a time filled with deception, and there are consequences to each of the choices we make."
The service ran about three hours and combined the sermon with hymns performed by a Jordanian choir and band alongside Egyptian singers, Milh il Ard reported. Hundreds of those present responded to an appeal to follow Christ, the site said. Munther Nimat, director general of the Jordan Bible Society, said 400 copies of the New Testament were distributed free of charge afterward.
Imad Shehadeh, president of the seminary, said he had first invited Youssef to the campus 12 years earlier and called the service an unforgettable event. He told the crowd that the ministry's motto shared its sense with the seminary's own text, inscribed in Greek on its prayer tower: "Christ in you is the hope of glory," from Colossians 1:27.
Organizers presented the evening as a point of convergence for a Christian community divided along denominational lines. Speaking to Milh il Ard afterward, Youssef said he had been struck by the unity of spirit among the church leaders he met the previous day and by the response to his message. Leading The Way's statement quoted two denominational leaders, one describing the gathering as unique among Jordanian church events and another saying it had given the church "a fresh breath."
Youssef told Christian Daily International before the service that reconciliation among divided Christians was "the joy of my life," and said he would take part in preparations for Jordan's planned 2030 commemoration of the 2,000th anniversary of Jesus' baptism at Bethany Beyond the Jordan if invited to help.
The service was carried live on KINGDOM SAT and streamed on the ministry's online platforms. Farid Garas, a senior director at the channel, said further "Christ Our Hope" events are scheduled for Luxor, Egypt, on Nov. 6 and for the Mokattam district of Cairo on Nov. 15.
