‘We pray that one day Portland will be known not by our lack of faith, but rather as people who serve the Lord’
Is revival possible in one of the most liberal cities in the United States?
Portland is set to host the PDX Crusade, a series of three evangelistic events with an expected turnout of over 45,000 on Aug. 2-3 at the Moda Center. Featuring nationally known Christian music artists like Chris Tomlin, Zach Williams, Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes, along with a Gospel message from Athey Creek’s Senior Pastor Brett Meador, the event marks Portland’s first such Evangelical mass gathering in over 25 years.
Identified by the Pew Research Center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study as the only major U.S. metro area where religiously unaffiliated individuals (43%) outnumber Christians (42%), Portland is often called one of the “least churched cities” in the nation despite the presence of over 700 churches as of May of this year.
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Meador, who moved to Portland in 1996 to spread the Gospel, sees the city’s spiritual and political challenges as intertwined. “Portland is one of the most liberal cities in America,” Meador told The Christian Post. “Our state constitution was drafted in 1859 in a way to keep the whole freedom of expression thing wide open. I’m not sure those early writers knew just how far our city would take that.
While the city later earned the unofficial mantra of “Keep Portland weird,” Meador says that soon “became demonic,” and preceded the Antifa riots in the summer of 2020, which he says “decimated” Portland. “Businesses shut down, buildings were boarded up, and the city was physically destroyed,” he added. “On top of that, drug use and the city’s homeless population is rampant.”
Meador also pointed to spiritual challenges within local churches. “On a spiritual level, liberal politics and unbiblical cultural views have crept into the Church,” he said. “There are church pastors in the area preaching heresy, saying things like ‘Jesus was transgender’ and ‘He died for your own happiness.’”
Athey Creek Church, which began with Meador teaching a small group verse-by-verse in 1996, now has three campuses, five weekend services, a Wednesday night Bible study, global watch parties, and a national radio program, “Today’s Word Radio.”
The PDX Crusade is seen as a continuation of its mission to reach Portland and beyond with the Gospel.
“At Athey, we want to be a church that lets the light of Christ shine into Portland because it really needs it badly. We’re not just burying everything under the rug and giving a seeker-sensitive message, but rather we’re saying the hard things,” he said. “We want to speak the truth in love in a way that people who are truly searching for peace are attracted to. We have found there is a great hunger for the peace, purpose and freedom God’s Word provides.”
Meador says the PDX Crusade has already seen overwhelming demand, with tickets for the two originally planned evening events selling out in just 10 minutes, prompting the addition of a third afternoon event on Aug. 2.
“While our city has a history of turning away from the Light, we believe now is the time to bring the Gospel back to the heart of Portland,” Meador said. “PDX Crusade is about sharing the freedom, hope and love found in Jesus alone. We have already seen God moving in our city and pray that one day Portland will be known not by our lack of faith but rather as people who serve the Lord.”
With a national reputation as a bohemian mecca, which President Donald Trump once referred to as a city “where they kill people,” Portland hit a record high in murders in 2022 before seeing its overall crime data dip slightly in 2023. After voting to “defund” the police in 2020, police response times for “high-priority crime” topped an average of 21 minutes in June 2023.
Despite the political headwinds, Meador remains hopeful about Portland’s future. “I want to believe so because I know the power of the Holy Spirit,” he said. “I also know it will require more individuals, pastors and government leaders who are willing to boldly stand up for and act according to biblical truth. Our city and our country need Jesus. We need a revival. That’s why Athey Creek is hosting PDX Crusade and why we preach the Bible verse-by-verse, chapter-by-chapter. We know God’s Word has the power to transform hearts and minds.”
