Unshaken faith amid Venezuela’s earthquakes

Written by CfaN South-Africa
Article originally published in the September issue of JOY! Magazine

This is a story of remarkable timing. Christ for all Nations (CfaN), sensing a great urgency to respond to sudden open doors in Venezuela, has been conducting Fire Camps (training local budding evangelists) and building relationships with hundreds of local churches over the past two years. This work is building towards a major CfaN Gospel campaign in Valencia in October this year. Campaign preparations are at an advanced stage.

God’s perfect placement
So, this is why Alejandro and Rachel Escobar – veteran CfaN campaign organisers – were in Venezuela this June when the twin earthquakes struck. They were in the final few days of a 19-day trip, leading 27 evangelists who were conducting youth campaigns, preaching in prisons, and meeting with local churches to plan the upcoming campaign. During the earthquakes, not one of the 27 evangelists in the team was harmed.

When the earth shook
One of the evangelists, Fabian Lösslein, described the moment everything changed. “I had just left a big pastors’ meeting. We’d gathered all the pastors in one church, and when it was over, I was driving home. Then, suddenly, all the cars stopped on the highway. My first thought was, are we getting robbed? What is happening? Then I saw the car right next to me shaking and immediately knew it was an earthquake. My wife and three kids were back in the apartment on the 24th floor. The whole building was shaking. My kids were literally falling from wall to wall. But the Lord clearly said to me: ‘I am your castle. You are safe.’ Half an hour after the earthquakes, the children were in bed and fast asleep – we had complete peace, a peace that surpasses all understanding.”

Being the hands of Jesus
In the wake of the earthquakes, campaign preparations were temporarily put on hold. Alejandro and Rachel, who have built a network of church leaders over the past two years, looked to see how they could be the hands of Jesus. Instead of holding prayer meetings and media interviews, they were now taking food, water, and medicine to desperate, displaced people. They identified where the local church needed help and jumped in to do as much as they could.

Preparing for a great harvest
Alejandro is originally from Venezuela and has heard the Lord speaking of a great harvest there for more than eight years. He shared: “When the earthquake hit, we were the only Christian response team on the ground, just Rachel and me. Then more people joined, and we put together a small relief team. Fire Camp graduates and CfaN Bootcamp evangelists came to help preach the Gospel, minister with local churches, and support humanitarian efforts while activating evangelism. The people are incredibly hungry for hope.”

Bringing hope and prayer
Alejandro continues, “We have over 700 trained evangelists in the country. In Valencia, where we were based, there are around 250 Fire Camp evangelists. They’ve been mobilising on their own, and many churches have been working nonstop. We’ve heard stories of trained evangelists going out to rescue people and even preaching the Gospel to those trapped in the rubble, sharing Jesus with them while they were still buried. They didn’t have equipment to dig them out, but they brought hope and prayer.”

Faith over fear
“Even though our core team was small, we had huge support from hundreds of evangelists trained over the past years, along with local churches. We’re now working with countless churches, board advisors, and major denominations in Valencia. They’ve partnered with us to share the Gospel. They brought in teams and humanitarian aid, and we came alongside them to ensure that the Gospel was also shared. For example, they would deliver mattresses and food, crowds would gather, and then we’d preach. We were holding small Gospel campaigns at relief centres.”

‘God spared me to serve’
A few days after the earthquakes, Alejandro visited a church in the heart of La Guaira, one of the hardest-hit areas, where over 190 buildings collapsed.
“We connected with a small church there and met a pastor named Israel. He shared his story, and it was heartbreaking. That day, they had held a healing and deliverance service. Just minutes after the service ended, the earthquake hit. He lost 20 church members. He himself was buried in the rubble and would have died if not for a church member who pulled him out.
“The church also ran a feeding programme for children, with a large building used to feed hundreds of kids. During the earthquake, that building collapsed, and all the children inside died. The church had a wall covered in paintings by the kids, drawings with messages like ‘Jesus is my friend’ and Bible verses. All those children passed away, but they all knew Jesus.
“That story really wrecked me. But what marked me most was when Pastor Israel said, ‘I was supposed to die. God saved me for a reason. I’m alive to continue helping people and building His kingdom.’ Since the earthquake, he and others have been working day and night – rescuing people, providing food and water. He said, ‘If the cook can’t cook anymore, I will cook. God spared my life to serve, help, and rescue people for the sake of the Gospel.’”

Hearts are turning towards God
Could anything more poignantly impress on us the urgency of the Gospel? Evangelist Matias Toivainen expressed the deep need for God that they are seeing everywhere: “I haven’t seen any cynicism towards God. There are no atheists in the country right now and hearts are very, very tender towards the things of the Lord. So, God has given us strength, God has given us a part to play in having the Good News go out. We love people, so as we help people, we also pray for them. We want to talk to them about a hope that lasts, a life that lasts and cannot be broken, and to lead people into the arms of Jesus. We’ve been seeing hundreds of people responding to the Gospel every day.”

God has a plan for Venezuela
Isn’t this an amazing thing to witness? God was working in Venezuela long before this tragedy struck. He was laying a new foundation, calling hundreds of evangelists, knitting the hearts of Christians together. Now, in this moment of shaking and testing, it is the Body of Christ that has risen to the challenge. And wherever hands are helping, the Gospel is being preached.

The time for Venezuela is now
For this nation, which has already endured so much and continues to suffer, the time is now. Local committees and advisors agree that Venezuela needs the Gospel now more than ever. Campaign preparations will continue as soon as possible. Please keep praying for the people of Venezuela, for the local churches who have risen to this tremendous challenge, and for our team as they seek the Lord for the upcoming campaign.

This article appears in the September 2026 issue of JOY! Magazine. Read the digital version of this magazine here: joygifts.co.za

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Date published: 18/08/2026
Feature image: Sourced from original article from JOY! Magazine September issue

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