During Pentecost Sunday weekend in May, over 60,000 believers attended a Christian conference in Holland, CBN reports.
This is an exceptionally high number for any Christian conference in a European country, but it is even more remarkable considering that Holland is one of the more secular countries in Europe.
Recent statistics show that over 57% of the population considers themselves as having no religious affiliation, meaning that most fall into the atheist (29%) or agnostic category. In addition, polling shows that 69% have never attended a religious service.
But this conference was also unique in another way due to its Pentecostal/Charismatic emphasis, because those in Holland who don’t believe in the filling of the Holy Spirit or the spiritual gifts would have little interest in attending.
It is estimated that approximately 63,000 believers attended the 54th annual Opwekking Pentecost Conference in Walibi Holland and incredibly another 700,000 listened online.
The conference was sponsored by the Opwekking Foundation, which was started by Ben and Wiesje Hoekendijk and Peter and Else Vlug in 1960.
The foundation was dedicated to promoting Holy Spirit revival in the Netherlands and includes that theme in its motto, which reads, “Follow Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.“
When the organization initially started 60 years ago, it held inter-church meetings across Holland preaching the gospel in the Holy Spirit’s power.
“And just as in the time of Acts, signs and wonders took place and many people came to a living faith,” the foundation explains on its website.
The organization’s first Pentecostal conference, held in 1971, only had 500 people in attendance and has obviously seen remarkable growth since then.
“The effect of the coming of the Holy Spirit is more powerful than miracles and signs: it causes people to go into the world to bring the gospel,” said Ruben Flach who serves as Opwekking’s General Director at the close of this year’s conference. “And that is also why we organize this conference every year: we desire that people become familiar with who Jesus is and with the powerful work of the Holy Spirit.“
OpentheWord.org 
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