March for Jesus in Brazil sees tens of thousands unite for Christ

Tens of thousands of Christians showed up on Thursday, May 26 for Brazil's yearly event called March for Jesus.

A crowd of evangelical Protestant Christians were seen on the streets of Sao Paolo for what the event organizers referred to as the "largest Christian event in the world." March for Jesus is run by The Reborn in Christ Church and has been celebrated for the past 24 years now. This year's celebration was broadcasted on Rede Gospel, a Brazilian Gospel television channel.

According to a report by Christian Today, the Christian participants follow trucks carrying speakers for three miles until they reach their destination. They are usually taken to a downtown location where stages are set up for a program filled with worship music that can last into the night.

"We can say that March for Jesus is an event for the family! It's the biggest popular manifestation on world! It's the people of God's party," the publication quoted Bishop Fernada Hernandes Rasmussen as saying at the event.

"We have to celebrate that we have freedom to show our faith! March day is an opened skies day. Is living the happiness, that is Christ salvation in us!" Rasmussen added.

The predominantly Catholic country is now converting to Protestantism and Brazil is now among the largest evangelical countries in the world, according to Christianity Today.

"Evangelization efforts by Protestant churches seem to be having an impact," said a report by Pew Research Center in 2014.

"Many former Catholics also said they became Protestants because they wanted a different style of worship or a church that helps its members more," noted Pew in its attempt to explain why countries once dominated by Catholicism are now home to more than just one religion.

Aside from Brazil, other Latin American countries that have seen at least 20 percent decline in Catholicism among its populations are Nicaragua, Uruguay, and El Salvador.