The Marks of Genuine Revival - Charisma Magazine - Proclaiming Jesus to the World

January 8, 2009

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The Marks of Genuine Revival

By J. Lee Grady

Julio Ruibal, who was martyred for his faith in 1995, left us a legacy of revival. His widow, Ruth, shares in this interview how the gospel transformed Bolivia in the 1970s.

Most American Christians today are unfamiliar with Julio Ruibal, the humble Bolivian preacher who was known in South America as “the apostle of the Andes.” He was martyred in 1995 in Cali, Colombia, where he and his wife, Ruth, planted a church and were mobilizing unity among churches in order to stop the violent drug cartels that controlled that city.

Years before criminals shot Julio in the streets of Cali, he was used by God to ignite a spiritual awakening that shook his native Bolivia to its foundations. In the early 1970s, after his conversion in Los Angeles, Julio returned to the city of La Paz, Bolivia and began to share Christ. After a core group of young people came to the Lord, conversions began to multiply exponentially until there were more than 5,000 new Christians.

After word of this spiritual outbreak spread in the predominantly Catholic country, Ruibal found himself in a meeting with Bolivia’s president, Hugo Bánzer Suárez. The president and his wife prayed with Julio and then gave him an open door to evangelize the entire country—giving him the use of stadiums and asking mayors to declare a holiday when the young evangelist arrived in their cities to preach.

During the next several years, hundreds of thousands of people were converted to Christ. Those who study the history of missions there draw a clear line between the days “before Ruibal” and “after Ruibal.” Today the evangelical population of Bolivia has grown to more than 11 percent.

Ruth Ruibal carries her husband’s torch today. Besides leading their ministry in Colombia, she speaks all over the world about the need for genuine revival and its transforming power. In this interview, she shares with Charisma about what she believes we should expect when we pray for revival to sweep our own country.

Charisma: Repentance seems to be a hallmark of true revival. What level of repentance did you see in the Bolivian revival?

Ruibal: Julio’s conversion was dramatic and his repentance was deep. He would lie on the living room floor saying, “Jesus I have found You; I have found everything.” Up until then, Julio was supporting himself by running a yoga academy. He told all his students about his conversion—and half the students were saved while half left. He closed down the academy and from that day, for the rest of his life, he lived by faith.

Most people would have tried to save the academy or wait until they had something else to do. But Julio was drastic in obeying.

I saw the fruit of repentance in Bolivia. People were getting right with others, making restoration for prior wrongs and dramatically stepping out from sin. Since repentance was part of Julio’s life, the people saved under his ministry saw that as well. Repentance was his lifestyle.

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