Kevin Palau is President of the Luis Palau Association, a Portland, Oregon-based ministry that has shared the Good News of Jesus Christ with 1 billion people around the world through Kevin’s father, evangelist Luis Palau.
Kevin joined the Palau Association in 1985 and began directing the day-to-day operation of the ministry in the late 1990s. Under his leadership, LPA has produced some of the largest Christian events ever staged, including festivals that have drawn crowds from south Florida to South America of up to 1 million people. Using a festival model for mass evangelism, these events are free, family-friendly celebrations that bring together well-known Christian and mainstream music artists, prominent Christian athletes, extreme sports exhibitions, interactive children’s areas, and much more.
In 2008, he pioneered the Festival 2.0 Model that joins a major Season of Service with the festival event. Preceding the festival, and designed for long-term sustainability well after the festival, the Season of Service is a massive, area-wide outreach showing the love of Christ through community service projects. These projects meet the city’s greatest needs, which are determined by local church and ministry leaders along with city officials.
In 2006, Kevin and the Palau team established the Livin It® Alliance, a strategic partnership connecting Christian action sports ministries including skate, BMX, FMX, surfing, and snowboarding. The Alliance brings ministries alongside each other for more effective evangelism. Various outreach tools, including Livin It, a fast-paced action sports DVD co-produced and directed by actor Stephen Baldwin, are created for connecting with an otherwise hard-to-reach segment of youth.
“We’ve seen an incredible response to our skate parks and demo teams at our festivals. The Livin It® Alliance serves a strong need among youth pastors and churches working hard to impact young people who are fans and participants in core action sports.”
In 1997, Kevin developed the Next Generation Alliance®, LPA’s partnership to encourage and equip a new generation of evangelists. The experience and resources of decades of evangelism are shared with those taking the Gospel to the world in the 21st century. Still, world evangelist Luis Palau remains the leader and driving force of the ministry.
Kevin Palau holds a degree in religious studies from Wheaton College. He lives in Beaverton, Oregon, near LPA’s international headquarters with his wife Michelle and their three children.